I’ve taught a lot of organizationally-challenged kids, but Tommy* takes the cake. He had no form of organization that I could see. He asked for a pencil each and every class period. Oh, and he also needed a piece of paper to take notes. He […]
When I was in school, it never occurred to me to personalize my supplies. The only personalized thing I ever had was my paper bag book covers. Yes, that was a thing. Other than that, I had the same yellow pencils, green scissors, and binders […]
I was ready to head back for my senior year of college, when it finally happened. My backpack broke. This had been my backpack for all of high school and the first 3 years of college. It had held textbooks, notebooks, gym uniforms, and so […]
Every summer break I had great plans. I was going to work out every day, paint my condo, read all those teaching books I meant to read, travel to new places, plan the first month of the school year. Oh yeah, and sleep. When summer […]
When I was teaching, my goal was to only have 2 crying kids per semester. I’m a sympathetic crier, so it gets awkward real quick. 😭 But when I started teaching seniors, the number of cryers increased. I needed more tissues. The stakes were high […]
My mom grew up in Chicago, IL. It’s not called the “Windy City” for nothing. Located right off of Lake Michigan, the wind blew coal dust and dirt into her family’s house all winter long. She remembers having to spring clean the house from top […]
I hate being late. For anything. A party, an appointment, a TV show, class. (Don’t even get me started on how to switch classrooms, use the bathroom, and prep my new classroom for class all in 7 minutes.) I love being on time and always […]
“Um, why are you taking out your cell phone in class? You know it’s against the rules.” “Yeah, but I want to take a picture of the homework you wrote on the board. I won’t be able to write it down before class ends and […]
A few years ago, I asked for a Fitbit for my birthday. I’d stopped exercising during a particularly stressful year. And, no surprise, I gained weight and my stress level rose. So, I decided to change my habits. I started tracking my steps with the […]
New Year = New You! You know you’re going to see that phrase all over the TV, your Instagram feed, and from well-meaning people in the next few weeks. As if the calendar changes and a new person comes to take your place. While you […]
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