Awhile back, I attended a national charter school founder’s lecture about his experiences opening new schools across the country. After...

Every time we boarded an airplane to travel, my wife would open the airline magazine and complete the three levels of Sudoku puzzles: ...

I have heard the expression – Teaching to the Test – for many years, but I had not deeply considered the thinking behind the phrase until...

Half a century ago, my father, older brother and I watched a herd of horses driven into a rectangular corral from an open field. My father w

The pandemic has brought to light many underlying issues in our society. Some incidents were surprising; for instance, I was astounded...

Happens far too frequently in our public schools. A student will use profanity or do something outrageous to get an emotional response...

The famous American political phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid” is attributed to James Carville and coined during Bill Clinton's...

Small Gaps Widen to Larger Chasms While hiking the 500-mile-long El Camino in Spain a couple of summers ago, a small pain ensued on the...

A middle distance runner competing in a 3,200 meter or 5 kilometer race practices and trains differently than a long distance runner...

When I was in college, my statics and dynamic professor proposed a no homework versus a double homework wager to his students. He...

If you are a teacher, it will be impossible to avoid major student discipline problems. It will happen at some point in your career....

A couple years before I retired, I was teaching fifth grade mathematics at my Title 1 elementary school – despite the fact that I was the...

I do not own a washing machine. Never have. I use the condominium laundry room with its ten washing machines and dryers to handle my...

“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” This old joke is amusing and timeless because of the obviousness of its one-word punchline: Practice!...

About 15 years ago, I attended weekly central administrator meetings as an elementary program supervisor in a large urban Texas school...

Over the last decade, Graham Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District's dramatic and sustained academic Title 1...

Above all else at a public school, the first priority of teachers and administrators must always be ensuring children's safety....

I was a first year teacher – TWICE in the same school year. I was hired as a second grade teacher, and I taught that grade level for a...

In the 1970’s, my father started the first Christmas tree farm in South Dakota. A slotted hole was dug using a long steel spade shovel...

On my planning period, I walked down to the teacher workroom to check my school mailbox and make several Xerox copies. As I walked back...