Social and emotional development
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Pluto: A Girl, A Grandfather, and A Teacher
Eighty-five years ago, 11-year-old Venetia Burney sat at breakfast with her grandfather, who was a university librarian at Oxford. He talked to her about the latest exciting news story, that a new planet had been discovered. A suitable name hadn’t yet been found, he pointed out. Venetia’s teacher had taught her students that the other Continue reading
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High Stakes Kindergarten
A recent story about kindergarten and the Common Core in The Boston Globe got me steamed enough to write a letter to the editor. We teachers and administrators must speak out when articles like this one appear. I take seriously my responsibility to cultivate social justice in the world. The Common Core and other state Continue reading
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Do Pets School at Work, or Work at School?
To mark Take Your Dog to Work Day (June 26), I offer this piece from 2010, published at Lesley University as “The Magic of Mario and G Force.” Learn what a difference pets make in the classroom. It’s a steamy spring afternoon in a city school. Twenty-six hot first graders in navy polo shirts plop onto the rug to hear their Continue reading
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Math on National Fudge Day
When I heard that today was National Fudge Day, I dug out my grandmother’s recipe book to find “Fudge Without Cooking.” Grammy reused and recycled many things, including two pieces of plywood from her friend Mrs. Bagelmann’s husband, a pharmacist. Inside, she handwrote, typed, or taped recipes on stiff manila cardboard pages. Following a fudge Continue reading
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National Teacher Appreciation Week
Forego the mugs, the trinkets, the gift certificates. I speak for many teachers when I say, “If you must give me something for Teacher Appreciation Week, I’d love a handwritten thank-you note.” It’s the soul of teaching that matters to us teachers. Who could stick to such a difficult profession if there weren’t more than Continue reading
Write Away 