Shooting Free Throws Underhanded in School
Here are some thoughts about teacher leadership and facing discomfort when attempting to do the right thing, especially when it challenges the status quo.
Emphasizing the Gift of Attention
Like most teachers, I’m a few weeks into the school year. I’ve dealt with shifting rosters, a classroom change, opening-school paperwork, and trying to establish a positive, productive classroom… Read more Emphasizing the Gift of Attention →
Should We Teach “Other People’s Kids” Differently?
Originally posted on Christopher Lehman:
This post is the second of two in response to CNN’s “Inside Man,” my first was posted yesterday. I decided to make this one separate because while the reflection was sparked from a few scenes in that program it goes beyond that one hour and that one particular school. In this Inside Man episode, Morgan Spurlock visited a school in Finland where he took a stab at teaching a class, then as a comparison visited a charter school in New York City and retaught the…
Don’t Overuse ‘Good Job!”
If you finish your homework, I’ll give you a candy bar. But if you don’t finish your homework, you’ll get timeout. If you be quiet, you’ll get five extra minutes… Read more Don’t Overuse ‘Good Job!” →
The Power of Student Voice
One of my goals in our Unleashing Digital Storytelling elective course is to help elevate student voice through authentic media creation. Taking matters into her own hands, Kaylie created this… Read more The Power of Student Voice →
Don’t Smile Until After Christmas? Nonsense!
A version of this essay originally appeared in Middle Ground magazine in October, 2008. Don’t smile until after Christmas. I’ve always been puzzled when I overhear talk of this informal… Read more Don’t Smile Until After Christmas? Nonsense! →
The Challenge of Attention
See if you can read through this entire blog post without being distracted by e-mails, hyperlinks, instant messengers, or the phone in your pocket. I bet you can pretty easily,… Read more The Challenge of Attention →
Struggling Writers: Is Personal Expression the Answer?
Glancing around the room, fiddling with his smart phone, and tapping his pencil, Michael will do anything but write. He’ll scribble a few sentences on the paper, and the chicken… Read more Struggling Writers: Is Personal Expression the Answer? →
Nothing Compares to Being a First-Year Teacher
“A student urinated on my floor when I was out in the hallway. On a day I was absent, students jettisoned textbooks and graded papers out my second-story classroom window. A computer monitor was smashed on my floor after a rage-filled overhead toss. I witnessed a basketball player punch another student in the face before school, stay in class all day, and then suit up for the afternoon’s game. No consequences.” When I reread the following essay I wrote over eight years ago about my first-year teaching in 2004-2005, I’m… Read more Nothing Compares to Being a First-Year Teacher →
Paul Barnwell 