Dear Sir, Thank you for the unforgettable lesson in early American history. I came to your fifth grade class to support your new teacher, and instead I got schooled that day. When I discovered that day’s lesson was about the early slave trade in our original colonies, I was concerned. I, a white woman, looked …
Last week I visited a campus for a scheduled day-long session. I was early so the instructional coach and I chatted about her life outside school, books she’s currently reading, a recent training opportunity she’d had. When I asked Evelyn how she felt about the day ahead of us, she shared where she felt the …
Years ago, I was part of a group trained in my district to be a Curriculum Facilitator. That’s a fancy title for the person who represented their campus at district curriculum writing meetings. My title meant that I wrote curriculum with a team of other teachers based on input from the teachers I represented from …
It happens all the time. I’m sitting at the table with a teacher working on lesson planning or adjusting intervention based on new data. We consider options for instruction and the teacher will at some point say, “I know my principal (or the district, or the team lead) wants me to do _________________, but I …
A couple of years ago, I attended a day-long session facilitated by Jim Knight on using video as a tool for instructional coaching. Jim started the day with his Partnership Principles. I was equally inspired and mortified. I was inspired to learn more about how I can strengthen the partnerships with teachers I support, but …
Did you feel a call to action as images of immigrant children were shown being separated from their families? Maybe your action manifested itself in calling politicians, writing letters, leveraging the power of social media; getting your message out based on your values and beliefs about this pressing issue. I know many who took action, …
Holly Ray is the guest blogger for That Thing You Do! today. She has over 14 years of experience in grades K-12 in both public and private school–nine of those years in administration. I am so grateful that Holly is sharing about the importance of leading others through a change process. You can follow Holly …
A lot of teachers are winding down their summer 2017, but campus administrators, many of them, are already back at school. I’m reposting this great guest post by my friend, Christal Hollinger. It’s a perfect read for the few weeks before school reconvenes. Christal Hollinger is the guest blogger for today’s That Thing You …
My dad was not one for giving unsolicited advice while I was still living at home. That changed however, when I left to start my first year of teaching. “Stay out of the teacher’s lounge.” Of all the counsel he could’ve given me, I thought his advice a bit odd. I thought for sure it …
I’m so excited today that my friend and co-conspirator, Aubrey Steinbrink is the guest blogger for today’s That Thing You Do! Aubrey is an instructional specialist on a K-6 campus. She’s currently working on her post graduate degree and that makes this blog post even more important. Aubrey took valuable time away from family, studies …
