basic

Recess.  Do you rejoice?  Moan?  Feel uncertain?  Yes, I have been there too.  Recess is designed to give students a break from study, and a chance to exercise.  Our little people's minds a... Read More

Communication can make or break your school year. From the onset, you want to be intentional on communicating your expectations to your students and patrons as well as hearing their expectations, ... Read More

At the end of a school term, I sent off my students with a list of fifty tasks to complete over the summer. Certainly they were all optional, and some were more educational than others. This year,... Read More

School is out. The students have closed their books and taken the last tests. The books have all been sent back to the school house. It’s time to forget math and language and reading for a few m... Read More

Motivation My sixth-grade teacher pulled me into the hall for a conversation. “I know you can do better than this. These pages are sloppy and this is not your best work,” she said. The workb... Read More

There is an attribute that lubricates relationships and mechanics of home and classroom. It allows learning to flourish and exhausting power battles to diminish. The word itself sounds austere, ye... Read More

“Forty-one students?  How do you expect me to teach 41?”  complained the first-grade teacher in her students’ hearing. How did this make them feel?  Some children felt unwanted, and ma... Read More

As a 20-year-old, I started my career in education with no desire to make it a career. I knew it was a good work and I wanted to do well for at least one year but I had no idea then that I would ... Read More

New teachers face a daunting task. There are classrooms to decorate, students to manage, and lessons to teach. Paul reminds us to avoid unrealistic expectations. None of us are masters of a craft the ... Read More