Counting My Blessings
To say that this year has been the most rewarding in my career is an understatement. When I found out that my colleagues had voted for me for our school’s Teacher of the Year, I was over the moon. I never could have imagined the path that would unfold before me. Next came district Teacher…
Teachers Across America are Invited to Join Me For a #Workfreelunch
American teachers are gifted multi-taskers. We, who conduct stealthy paper-grading sessions in the middle of staff meetings and keep at least two internal conversations going at all times. Many of us have found that this is absolutely the only way to survive. As a bona fide multi-tasker-in-recovery myself, I can testify to the exhilarating feeling…
Guiding Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families through the IEP Process
The Special Education evaluation process can be a labyrinthian course fraught with confusion and misinformation. However, it also has the potential to be a rich source of information and a time for deep planning around the needs of a particular student. For teachers of students who come from culturally and linguistically diverse families, it is…
Caring. Reflection. Accomplished Practice in Life.
This past June, I retired. As a 32-year educator, a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) achieved and renewed; I knew this was going to be an interesting adventure. And what have I discovered? My identity hasn’t changed. I still strive to be “accomplished” in what I do, by being analytic and reflective. Collaborative. By…
The Process of Earning Board Certification Made a Difference for Me and My Students
I completed the field experience for my undergraduate degree in education with a brilliant third grade language arts teacher. She was just dynamite in her classroom! Her students loved her. Her lessons were engaging. Her classroom was a positive place where students were actively learning. I was incredibly inspired by her teaching. Yet, there was…
Stop the self-doubt. Why are you afraid of your idea?
I’ll bet you have an idea. It’s been itching in your brain. Keeping you up at night more than a newborn baby. This idea is not one of those maybe I’ll try this in class tomorrow kinds of ideas. More like one of those massive, life-consuming, I’m so scared ideas. But it’s also one of…
The Disillusionment Phase Hits Mentor Teachers, Too
National Board Certified Teachers seem to have the mentoring gene built into their DNA. NBCTs often serve in both formal and informal mentoring roles for those new to the profession – which means you already know what season it is. The New Teacher Center calls the weeks between mid-October and Thanksgiving break the Disillusionment Phase.…
Why More High Schools Should Have a Block Schedule
When I started teaching in 1995 at an alternative high school in Chicago (a school that gave dropouts a second chance at a diploma), we were on a block schedule. I saw students every other day for about 90 minutes a class. I hated it. As a new teacher then, I found it difficult to…
Renewing my certification was meaningful to me, important to my students
This week 3,384 National Board Certified Teachers learned that they renewed their certification. I want to offer my congratulations to those educators for their notable achievement. They teach to high standards, they are committed to continually improving their teaching practice and, perhaps above all, they are committed to students and their learning. This is the…
“Ms. Robinson, why do we need to know this?”
How many teachers hear this phrase on a day-to-day basis? When I first started teaching, I was thrown into a classroom with little more than a pacing guide and a projector to keep my head afloat. I was 23, a neophyte, and barely able to stay ahead of my students during instruction. I found that…
