Teaching in the Pandemic is like Eating Noodles Without Chopsticks
By: Lory Walker Peroff, NBCT I recently attended a virtual professional development on a sunny Saturday morning. I was still hungover from a rough week at school. Despite a brief moment of elation when, for the first time in four months, I had all of my students in attendance, the week was overwhelming as usual.…
Be an NBCT to a T (as in Traveler, not Tourist)
By: Carol Hofer, NBCT If you bet that seeing themselves on video is what most terrifies candidates pursuing National Board Certification, pay up. It’s the editing. But it’s a double whammy- trimming both the video AND the writing! First, it’s “How am I going to fill up all those pages?” then it becomes,…
When Schools and Pixar Collide: The Value of a Postmortem
By: Danny Hollweg, NBCT I picked up Ed Catmull’s 2014 book, Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration. Catmull, who is the President and CEO of Pixar Animation and Disney Animation, uses stories of Pixar projects to reveal what he’s learned about managing a company, and its creative…
Tales from the Pandemic: Lessons learned as an administrator during COVID-19
Starting the School Year. As a school-based administrator entering my 3rd year in a building, I have experienced very little “normal.” I thought this year would be different. Er, rather, I hoped. Here we are on the Friday before teachers return. COVID-19 numbers are surging. Mask wars are on full-scale. Staff members are stressed already.…
Seeing Dyslexia through three sets of lenses
By: Chris Murray, NBCT From as early as I can remember in elementary school, I had difficulties with words, spelling, and sounds. That difficulty was diagnosed when I was in fourth grade (currently the majority of cases of dyslexia are not identified until at least third grade), but I truly did not begin to understand…
The Silver Lining of the Black Box
By: Mia Manduca, NBCT I teach to Black Boxes. At the beginning of the school year teaching, psychology to high school seniors on Zoom was intimidating and confusing. Black boxes with names like “Saucy” and “Nugget” didn’t match my roster and with no visual cues, I couldn’t tell the difference between Kiana and Kiara. But…
Tales from the Pandemic: Silver Linings and Lessons Learned
By: Michael Ida, NBCT Unless you’re a journalist, it’s dangerous to write history while it is being made. However, as teachers, we don’t always have the luxury of waiting for the dust to clear before taking stock. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. Having no choice but to try new things during…
