• Teaching

    Do Substitutes Matter?

    Why I decided to become a substitute teacher I was a classroom teacher for five years. The principal of our school was a strong woman, a no-nonsense woman with a huge heart and high expectations. I trusted her and enjoyed working with her. It was what my young thirty-something-year-old self needed, a strong female example of a good leader. She helped me grow as a teacher, and she let me express my creativity in my lesson plans instead of following a cookie cutter template.

  • Teaching

    Epic Teaching Fail

    Never have I come home from a substitute teaching job and cried. Until this year… The phone rang for middle school. My inner voice said you know it’s going to be tough. Delving into a class full of hormonal teens trying to figure out their place in the world can be challenging. I’ve done it for the past three years, subbing in classes that can be difficult to find subs for because of behaviors. Slowly it’s taken its toll, and this year I had decided to sub only for high school. Then came the call for middle. I figured I had all summer to rest, an attitude of positivity and a…

  • Inspiration,  Teaching

    In Defense of Teachers

    While perusing Facebook, I clicked on an Upworthy video people were sharing. It basically had kids telling teachers to understand how to meet their needs. One child needed to walk around the room, another learned better by rocking in his chair, they each were spouting off as if teachers had no idea that children learn in unique ways. Anger bubbled up inside me. I couldn’t fully understand why, so I went outside to work in my yard and contemplate the video and my emotional response to it. After all, I’m not a teacher anymore, and I’ve always been an advocate for multiple intelligences and reaching students through their learning styles.…

  • Parenting,  Teaching

    Is Homework Helping or Hurting Our Children?

    Is Homework Helping or Hurting Our Children? What does homework teach? There was a phrase I was taught to use as a new teacher when speaking with students. Every day I asked, “Did you do your personal best?” It was our way of trying to teach the kids to put effort into their work and not just slop something down to get it done. I’ve been thinking a lot about this phrase and my early years of parenting. When my children started school, it was extremely important to me that they were enrolled in a gifted program. I suppose it was partly due to my own insecurities about my school performance as a…

  • Teaching

    Lost in Transition

    This morning I walked out my front door. It was pitch black. Imagine my surprise when I went to climb in my car and it was gone! I stood there in the dark. My mind not fully functioning on only one cup of coffee. Where was my car? I laughed when I realized the night before I had met Eric at work so we could drive to our dance lesson together. After dancing we hopped in his car, picked up dinner and drove home. Neither of us remembering that my car was still at his office. The caffeine kicked in and I saw Arielle’s truck sitting in the same spot…