Perhaps you can recall the Joni Mitchell song where she looked at clouds, life, and love from both sides, and after experiencing both sides of the issue, comes to the conclusion that she really doesn’t know clouds, life and love at all. That’s because the premise of the song is flawed; there are not two…

This article could apply to any field of employment today, not just education.  The “Other duties as assigned” clause at the end of most job descriptions has been used to expand employees horizons, drive employees to the point of burnout, and provide cause for termination. Many schools today have a stated goal of creating life-long…

  If you’ve been looking for a new and more effective task management app for your mobile phone or tablet, you may have noticed a trend in what’s being offered in the App Store or Play Marketplace.  Many of these apps are geared to “team” productivity, designed not just for use by one person, but…

Recently, I saw a meme on a social media platform that was quite disturbing.  It wasn’t political in nature, but it spoke to a subject in education that isn’t discussed, and that’s “trending.” It didn’t speak to what the trend is, but took a look back, and addressed the progress or retrogression that’s happened over…

In the early 1980’s, I became a teacher. I had been hired by a local Catholic parish as a cantor, but was seeking full-time employment in my field. When I was introduced to the parish staff, the principal asked me what I did for a living, and, when I told her that I was between…

To be clear, this doesn’t mean there should be prayer in public schools (although there used to be, and there’s nothing that stops private prayers from happening…especially before tests). Actually, if the local community wants prayer to be present “in” the public school, it should be allowed…but that’s another topic for another article. Regardless of…

One of my earliest childhood memories was snuggling up to my mom on the couch on Sunday mornings.  She would read the comics to me.  It didn’t matter that I may not have understood the humor the cartoonist was presenting, because mom would explain what was going on in the pictures.  I still remember bringing…

You may think the title of this article has the word “teaching” spelled incorrectly.  That assumption would be incorrect.  “Teching” was a termed coined in the early video game era, but some folks started to use it regarding the increasing utilization of technology. Today, most children “tech” for enjoyment…alright, young adults do too, as evidenced…

When I was a teacher, all ten of us – one teacher for each home room (K-8), and yours truly who taught 7th and 8th grade science and health, 8th grade algebra, and instrumental music – had recess duty once a week every other week. Kids played. It was not structured. It was not attuned…

A few years ago, I met a gentleman who told me he played in a band for 19 years, and made 3 records.  He loves music, and is grateful to his dad for “making” him learn a musical instrument – even though when he was young, he hated it…especially when his friends were outside playing…