My first year teaching, vocabulary was about as far from my mind as possible. I was in the business of figuring out which battles to fight, and competing for my attention were things like kids who couldn’t add and classrooms that operated at a dull roar while I tried to talk. If a kid was…

Once upon a time, I taught the same subject in the same grade in the same district as a brand new first year teacher. This teacher was fresh out of student teaching with one of the best veteran teachers around, and a couple of schools actually fought over who would get to have him. The…

Let’s be honest: waking up early on a Saturday, putting on a teacher dress, and spending all day criss-crossing across town between Catholic masses and parties full of strangers is not most people’s dream way to spend a weekend. Turns out it’s not so bad.   This Saturday was a big First Communion day for…

I have something to tell parents. This might be worth keeping in mind the next time you start screaming relentlessly at a teacher informing you of a consequence.   First, I am not out to get your child. I see 130 kids every day. I love them dearly or it wouldn’t be worth coming to…

One of my babies was in a very big accident yesterday. She’s in bad shape and the long-term damage might be very serious.   Every time I’m alone, I just sit and cry.    

By popular demand (and because I need somewhere to organize this for myself), I’m going to put up a series of posts about what I learned at the NCTM conference. If you’re a math teacher, I hope this is as valuable for you as it is for me! (If you’re not a math teacher, I…

By popular demand (and because I need somewhere to organize this for myself), I’m going to put up a series of posts about what I learned at the NCTM conference. If you’re a math teacher, I hope this is as valuable for you as it is for me! (If you’re not a math teacher, I…