Just Like Dan

Just Like Dan

  As a classroom teacher, I taught 5th grade math. It was my strongest subject because I was always excited to teach math. I had a friend named Dan who…
Helping Students Thrive

Helping Students Thrive

  It's really simple. If we want students to thrive in today’s world, we need them to possess the following core abilities: The ability to find, validate, and understand information.The…
Creating Solutions Fast

Creating Solutions Fast

  It’s important that we create solutions fast. The solutions that we generate may not actually solve the problem. And if they don’t, that’s ok. You go back to the…
Disagreement in Math

Disagreement in Math

  There’s nothing better than seeing a great discussion in math class. We don’t often consider that the meaningful conversations that our students have will occur during a math period,…
Gray is My Favorite Color

Gray is My Favorite Color

  The system would have you believe that there is a right way and a wrong way to do things. Black or white. Clear cut. One and only one correct…
Problems That Don’t Exist

Problems That Don’t Exist

  What could happen? What might happen? What if...? How will I...? We spend a great deal of time worrying about problems that don’t exist. That time spent worrying is…
The Perfect Solution?

The Perfect Solution?

  When faced with a problem, the goal should not be to find a perfect solution. The goal should be to find a solution that works. Solutions can be modified…
Standards We Should Be Focusing On

Standards We Should Be Focusing On

  I recently had to look up a specific language arts standard for a specific grade level.  While I was navigating the website, I had to search my way through…
Strategies for a Solutions Based Culture

Strategies for a Solutions Based Culture

  Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of  establishing a solutions based culture, one in which problems are directly addressed by the collective whole in order to improve schools. Here…