20 YEARS

I have been teaching for 20 years and to be honest I know how blessed I am to be doing a job that I love.  It was not always that way but at this point in my career I am so thankful for the way my life has unfolded. 

When I first starting teaching my oldest daughter was just...

There is a lot to classroom management but one of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself is creating effective and manageable routines. 

We had a speaker come to my campus a few weeks ago to talk about Multiple Tiers of Student Support (MTSS).  

The main idea behind MTSS is...

No seriously, what is the point of grades?

I have been teaching 20 years and at first I lived and died by the grades I issued, but the older I have gotten I have started to question our grading system.  

Think about it.  Why do we issue grades?

The reasons I still have grades in...

How was your year?

At the time of this posting I only have 3 more days of school left and I am so happy my summer break is right around the corner.  

At the end of of each school year I take a quick pause to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly.  

Do you do the same...

Why is it that you can walk into two different classrooms that are teaching the same exact lesson but the behavior and learning in the classroom is so different?

I have created 100's of videos on Youtube discussing classroom management, routines, and procedures.  I have thought extensively...

When I lesson plan there are some types of lessons that I do for every unit.  

There is almost a day of two of "Ed Puzzles" in which student individually watch videos and answer questions.  I usually do this a day before our notes so that when my students are taking notes we can...

Almost any educator you talk to today will how tell you how hard it is to be a teacher these days.  

The behavior of students seems to be at an all time worse and little or nothing is being done about it.  It is so bad that often great behavior is the exception to the rule and not...

Is it possible to transform your classroom in 20 days?

I believe it is.  

The reality of teaching is this that most of us spend more time dealing with behavior issues rather then doing what we really want to do, teach.  

It is a very frustrating place to be and honestly it is...

I remember how excited I was when I got my first job as a teacher.  But almost immediately that excitement wore off and was replaced with questions and anxiety.  

Will the kids like me?

What do I do if there is an emergency?

How do I make copies?

Where do I get the keys to my...

It is test day and you have a classroom full of disengaged students.  There are 30 pairs of eyeballs starring at you and it is up to you to make sure that this class period goes as smoothly as possible.  

Early on in my teaching career I was giving a test to my students and I took...

I have been teaching for 20 years and to be honest it has gone by fast.  I look around and I quickly realize that there is only about 2 other teachers in my entire school that I know from when I first started.  

There are so many new faces and so many of them are struggling like I...

It is 10 minutes before class is over and you are just counting down the minutes.  

I have had this thought so many times in my career, "I make 1 dollar a minute.  Just hang in there for another minute.  If I hang in there for 10 more minutes I can treat myself to a...