Full disclosure: Today I am writing from a position of arguably limited authority. I have been a classroom teacher (23 years) and an instructional coach (7 years) and have held varied leadership positions in the past. I am talking to and about school district leadership, though I have never held one of the positions that … [Read more…]
I almost didn’t write a post today. I had given myself a free pass, of sorts, when I wrote my last post two weeks ago, ending with, “As summer is quickly coming to an end, and with our oldest son’s wedding in less than a week… I will take a planned break from writing. I … [Read more…]
When I was a teacher in my fourth, fifth and sixth grade classrooms, I was pretty good at what I did. I wasn’t anywhere close to great, but I was pretty good. (See how “ego” made its way into today’s title?) 🙂 I enjoyed my students and their families. I listened to my students and valued … [Read more…]
The loooooooong wait is over! I have been revisiting this page from The Reading League’s website for months, waiting for the state of Iowa to turn dark blue, indicating that we have a Reading League Chapter. It’s official: The Reading League Iowa is now part of the Chapter Network! The Story On a Friday afternoon … [Read more…]
Last week, I wrote about the importance of planning. When it comes to classroom instruction, planning is far more than important – it is absolutely critical. This point was highlighted beautifully in Melissa and Lori Love Literacy’s 208th episode, “No More Strategy of the Week: Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book.” The episode features … [Read more…]
In a situation that I was trying to understand and help problem-solve, I quickly became frustrated and ultimately felt incompetent. Upon further reflection, I recognized that this situation was a perfect illustration of a quote from Solution Tree’s Learning By Doing: Clarity precedes competence. It is difficult to display competence, much less feel competent when … [Read more…]
Summer always seems to go too fast and this summer is certainly no exception. My thoughts and actions have been completely consumed by our house remodel, which is still underway. We began in June and I was naive enough to think that we would be finished by the time I returned to school in August. … [Read more…]
On Saturday, I was on a mission. I was bound and determined to trim the shrubs that adorn the front of our house. This is an annual task, one that was skipped last year, and I was committed to making sure that didn’t happen again. I approached the job with little to no plan. I … [Read more…]
The African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” rings true each and every day. In fact, I would add, it takes a village to accomplish many, many tasks of worth. There are times when a crazy thought crosses my mind: “Maybe I should teach preschool, kindergarten or first grade.” This is a … [Read more…]
This past week has allowed a peek into what our teachers are doing with students to set academic goals. In addition to our standing district beliefs, vision, mission, and goals, Fort Madison Community School District has identified the following goal for the 2022-2023 school year: “By May 2023, FMCSD will improve ELA and Math proficiency … [Read more…]