Lately I have been thinking about labels. In fact, I have noticed that I am down right sensitive to the labels we use when talking about people. Reflecting on why these labels often upset me, I have realized that what I am most afraid of is the stereotypes that these labels project. In one of … More Order of language matters in how we talk about students
I am a white woman from a middle class family living in a suburb of Seattle (one of the most beautiful and welcoming cities in the world). To say I was a privileged child, is an understatement- I had an ideal upbringing and I knew everyday how lucky I was. My parents never missed an … More How personal trauma helped me connect with families
Last May, I wrote a blog post on the lessons learned from my mother in regards to teaching. As my father’s birthday approaches next week, I have begun thinking about the aspects of my job/life that I have incorporated with values learned from my father. My father is a plumber by trade. Since … More 4 ways my father has impacted my career as an educator
When my son was born, I thought long and hard about what his bedroom decor would tell him and how it would inspire him as he moved through various phases of life. After much deliberation, I settled on a quotation by Mark Twain: I wanted my son to understand that life is about taking risks, … More Sailing Away From the Harbor: Living with Uncertainty
My senior year I took Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus. Devoting myself to advanced math with two periods and countless hours studying, I passed the AP test with a 5. As I entered my freshman year of college, I tested into Math 378. I can’t remember the course title but I do remember the complete astonishment … More What I wish I understood 15 years ago
It has been said that art imitates life. For me, that has certainly been the case. A dancer since the age of two, I learned early on to express my emotions through movement. Growing up in the 90’s, I had a plethora of upbeat pop music to move to. My childhood was filled with … More 5 Phases of Teaching As Exemplified in Dance
We have dyed eggs, had an Easter egg hunt and well… We had some time on our hands. After contemplating a variety of ways to spend our afternoon, we decided to try an experiment. What could we wrap a raw egg in that when dropped out a second story window, it would survive breakage? My … More The Toddler Egg Drop Experiment
A few weeks ago, I took my two children to the store to pick out a movie while on mid-winter break. Much to my delight, my daughter picked the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It had been over 15 years since I sat and watched this movie. As we all gathered on the … More What Willy Wonka Reminded Me About Learning Mathematics
Lately I have been encountering a common question: How do you know what your students understand at the end of every lesson? I suppose I understand this sense of urgency to a point. We live in a culture of instant gratification. You can, at any moment, change your hair color, have plastic surgery, win the … More 4 Unintended Consequences of Assessing Daily Learning
Sitting on the bus traveling to the airport as my first experience at Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching and Teachers (ECET2) came to a conclusion, I was struck by the words of a fellow attendee Jessica Willie, Dean of Instruction from Houston, TX. (@jrwillie2783) As Jessica and I were engaging in in-depth conversation around the … More You don’t have to be bad to be better
