Practicing for Success “Open your booklet and fold the back cover at the perforations,” I instructed my students this morning. “What’s a perforation?” one asked under his breath. “That little line of holes you can see if you hold the paper up to the light,” I said, and went back to my monologue. “Today you’ll take a practice test for the Iowa test.” “Practice test?” Everyone groaned. “Why do we have to practice?” someone whined. “To make sure you experience…
As a teacher, it would be easy to despair at the apathy at the start of the school year. But I have a secret weapon. #apathy #educator #student #teacher
“Tell me why you think Native youth don’t succeed.” “What do you mean?” a student asked. “Well, only 17% of Native Americans finish college. The unemployment rate on the Rez is about 43%. Why? Just list things that you think prevent Native youth from finding success.” They looked at each other and one by one started offering reasons. “Drugs.” “Alcohol.” “The schools on the Rez suck.” “Poverty.” I wrote each answer on the whiteboard, using smaller and smaller handwriting to…
Are you confident that your seeds will grow? I’m not talking about the kind your plant in a garden, but the kind you plant in relationships. #seeds #harvest #relationships #teacher
Self-Care Sundays For the next eight months, I’ll continue the MAPS theme from my Write 31 Days Challenge. I strongly feel that in our self-indulgent culture, we often lose sight of the difference between nurturing ourselves and indulging ourselves. Occasional indulgence won’t hurt anyone, but a steady diet of indulgence that overlooks actual self-care can leave us feeling empty and confused. The acronym MAPS stands for Mental, Academic/Artistic, Physical and Spiritual-the four areas of our lives that we need to…
Why I Should Collect The Things My Students Say My students crack me up. I’ve had the privilege of teaching teenagers for the last 28 years, and every week involves a good belly laugh over something one of them said or wrote. Unfortunately, I’ve failed to collect all of their funny sayings over the years. Just think of the collection I’d have by now! During my mixed-grade study hall, Kyle—a constant work-avoider, wanted to know who got to sit in…
