Podcast: “Teachers are Fun to be Around”
Tom White, NBCT from Lynnwood, Washington joins the new National Board podcast to discuss why he loves teaching, why he mentors teachers and what makes him laugh. Download Episode
Four Questions Teacher Leaders Must Ask Themselves
Last year Teach to Lead invited me to give the keynote speech at the summit on inclusion, equity, and opportunity. A partnership between, National Board, ASCD, and the U.S. Department of Education, Teach to Lead hosts Teacher Leadership Summits to help spotlight and advance the groundbreaking, teacher-led work that is happening in states, districts, and schools…
Finding Our Voices
Through my district’s Teacher of the Year process, I told myself that no one would see the value in what I do compared to the other fine teachers on that stage. I teach PreK, for goodness sake! People think all we do is play! The other finalists taught AP classes and led outstanding clubs and…
My App Helps Fill a Void
I couldn’t have been more excited – during a staff meeting, my principal told me that soon my students would receive iPads. They would be ready to use and would be a great learning tool! There was a catch that left me feeling deflated. It was made clear that I could only use apps that…
From the Memoir of a Teacher
The Top Three Things Every North Carolina Teacher Should Experience Before Exiting the Teaching Field Note: I’m from North Carolina and this post focuses on my experiences there. But the blog is relevant to teachers across the country. Get Board-certified. Renew your certification. And, stay in the classroom and find the right ways to rejuvenate…
Top 5 Ways to Find Teacher Leadership Opportunities
Recently, I taught a professional development course on teacher leadership for my district. I shared a lot of specific opportunities that exist and shared some opportunities that I’d tried myself. I also shared these top five ways to find opportunities in hopes that participants would be able to search and find other opportunities. These are…
National Board Renewal: An Exercise of Intense Reflection
Ten years ago, I became a National Board Certified Teacher, and to this day it remains the most powerful, life-changing professional development experience of my career. The original certification process was grueling. I had only been teaching four years when I decided to pursue certification, so I was still young in the field, but not…
Teach Well: Who Chooses for You and Why Does that Matter?
Too often in the name of efficiency directors, coaches and other administrators choose for teachers rather than supporting the kind of collaboration and autonomy that gives educators the professional choice, voice and leadership they’ve earned through their education, experience and professional tenure. Why do professional educators allow themselves to be directed with little voice or…
Mental Health Awareness in the Classroom
Famous comedian and actor, Robin Williams, once stated, “All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul, and they will never notice how broken you really are.” Sadly, these painful words mirrored Williams’s true feelings, as he succumbed to suicide after a long struggle with addiction and mental health. Unfortunately, celebrities…
Ka`ulu Gapero
Ka`ulu has been as a secondary math teacher for over 17 years, four of which were with the Hawai`i State Department of Education, the remainder at the Kamehameha Schools Hawai`i campus. He currently serves as a Director within Ho`olaukoa Educational Systems and Strategies, a division of the Kamehameha Schools, and is responsible for supporting system-wide initiatives…
