A Response to a Thank You
Fellow blogger and new NBCT, Amethyst Hinton-Sainz recently posted a blog thanking our district for supporting her through the National…
A Proper Thank You Note
Dear Dr. Pedicone and the Tucson Unified School Board Members: Our district deserves hearty thanks for the support they gave…
Sense of Urgency
After receiving our Winter Benchmark Assessment scores based on the Common Core standards, the teachers in my building received an…
Wigs, Statues, and the Rest
The state department of education grades schools based on student performance on a yearly standardized test. My school also monitors…
Green 360
January’s WestEd board meeting centered on “Learning and Teaching in a Networked World.” During the board meeting we had the…
Smart or Not Smart
I speak often about the ill effects of our testing culture on our students. My concerns tend to focus on…
The Four Hour Block: Bad Policy Creating Bad Pedagogy
“Mr. Spencer, why aren’t you doing STEM projects with us?” a student asks. “We’re doing some of them,” I point…
The Four Hour Block: Instructional Ghettos
When I began as an ELL teacher, I thought I would be working with students who were trying to learn…
School Happens
We are now just over halfway through the school year and I realize no matter what we try to do,…
And……?
According to a recent news story, Arizona has nearly doubled the number of its National Board Certified teachers in the…