The Voice That Fades October has a way of holding mirrors up to us. The leaves are turning, the evenings grow earlier, and every store seems filled with masks and costumes. Kelli and I drive past a church on our way to service each Sunday. Every year, the local high school football team unloads hundreds […]
Beyond Burnout: How Spiritual Practices Can Restore a Teacher’s Authentic Voice Read More »
The Other Night at Five Below The other night, Kelli and I took our niece, Ava, and two of her friends to Five Below so they could pick out some Halloween pajamas. I was struck by the sheer number of costumes lining the aisles—masks and makeup for every possible identity a child could imagine.
The Masks We Wear: What Teachers Hide Behind the Smile Read More »
Series: This post is part of Policy in the Classroom. See the full series → Two Lessons, Years Apart One afternoon at Delaware Technical Community College, I sat across from a colleague in our shared office, papers spread everywhere. We were filling out end-of-semester reports — the kind that tried to translate our teaching into
The Metrics of Trust: How Teacher Evaluation Reshaped the Classroom Read More »
A Meeting Between Worlds The other day, Kelli and I were out and about and happened upon an Applebee’s dressed up for fall. I noticed a couple of older folks—older than me (!)—sitting and chatting in a booth by the window. It got me thinking about all the times I’ve met with younger teachers over
Archetypes in the Classroom: What the Sage and the Novitiate Can Teach Us About Teaching Read More »
A Perspective Shifts feature post A Chorus in the Room A week ago Kelli, my wife, and I attended a protest in Rodney Square, Wilmington, Delaware with about 150 union members. I was struck by the solidarity. I had a chance to chat with other teachers. Then, the other night, I found myself scrolling
Teacher Voices: In Their Own Words Read More »
If we were sitting across from each other at a little café table, coffee in hand, here’s what I’d probably say first: “I’ve been working on something new—something that’s been brewing in my heart for a long time.” After fifty years of teaching—in private schools, public schools, special ed, high school, community college, and
Something New is Coming: Beyond the Grade Read More »
Series: This post is part of Policy in the Classroom. See the full series → Years ago, I was president of the Brandywine Education Association. That role meant regular meetings with the superintendent about how new policies would affect teachers. I still remember one presentation where he clicked through PowerPoint slides explaining our “new equity
Equity on Paper, Equity in Practice Read More »
A Fall Luncheon and the Quiet Work of Presence The other day, Kelli—my wife—and I walked into the Delaware State Education Association–Retired Fall Luncheon. About thirty of us gathered around round tables, catching up, laughing, and telling stories. From the outside, you might’ve seen what looked like “thirty old folks” enjoying lunch together. But if
Holding Space: What It Means and Why It Matters Read More »
Series: This post is part of Policy in the Classroom. See the full series → I still remember the knot in my stomach one Tuesday morning when the assistant principal slid into the back row of my classroom, clipboard in hand. It wasn’t the first time I’d been observed, but that day I knew
Testing, Trust, and the Teacher’s Voice Read More »
The first Tuesday without a bell The first Tuesday after I retired, I still woke before the sun. Old rhythms don’t disappear overnight. The coffee steamed, the street was quiet, and somewhere a school bus sighed at the corner the way buses do—a soft exhale that used to set my day in motion. My calendar
The Shift from Doing to Being: What Retirement Is Really Teaching Me Read More »
