Which is the more noble task? Generating the idea or carrying it out?  Action without thought is ineffective, but thought without action is useless.  The dichotomy reminds me of James' warning in the Christian Bible's New Testament.  He reminded early Christians that ''faith without works is dead.'' For two millennia, Christians have debated the ...

I have been incredibly busy the last couple of weeks, and between moving two hours away to a new city, transitioning to a new, very exciting and amazing job, and finishing projects at my current job, I’m a little swamped. I found this post from August, 2011, that I just had to repost because I still mean every word I wrote.  Best of luck to all ...

Educational Leadership:Supporting Beginning Teachers:Stop the Exodus. I thought this article was fantastic–simple tips to keeping great teachers in the classroom.  Help them get acclimated (don’t overlook them during testing weeks); help them figure out how to manage time and work/life balance; give them leadership and clout in decision making ...

In his article “Does the Common Core Matter?“, Tom Loveless declares, “On the basis of past experience with standards, the most reasonable prediction is that the common core will have litte to no effect on student achievement.”  His argument stems from data in the 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education that shows from 2003-2009, NAEP ...

 The day began early began with a pleasant jog with friends.   Got to see the mall by dawn with no one else around.  Highly recommended.  Then off we went to the convention center.  Shortly before arrival we saw something unexpected when a woman tripped and fell on the sidewalk.  Hard. Those nearby helped her up and I was relieved because I was ...

Once upon a time before NCLB, I actually taught government. Then I was told I didn't.  Just that simple(in a related twist Turner was told he did).  The details of why are sealed among the corners of my mind but I was  reassigned and not because of anything I did.  It was a result of NCLB language.   As a younger teacher it takes time to build a ...

So your first weeks of teaching are wrapping up.  At times you've struggled to recall why you became a teacher.  But in the past few weeks no doubt you and your students have learned a great deal already.  Still nothing could ever have prepared you for the past month.  The lessons learned are too numerous to recount.  So the TU will recount ones ...

Fabulous! #elemchat #spedchat #writingprompts world-shaker: writingprompts: 246 Did you know that there’s a Writing Prompts Tumblr run by a teacher?

Substitute Binder : thingstheysay: I stumbled across this blog a few weeks ago and I wanted to share a concept the author suggested: creating a substitute binder. While many schools and teachers supply binders, I know some classroom teachers who don’t even leave a note about where to find things (like tests or quizzes). I can’t tell you how ...

Teachers in Tiaras: Super Secret Walker: Another great idea to maintain and encourage appropriate behavior in the classroom. Love when ideas are easy to implement and work. teachersintiaras: This is another idea submitted by our first place winner, Sara G. Check out her Tumblr!! I’ve found that adding “Super Secret” to anything makes it more ...