Kelli and I attended the funeral of our sister-in-law’s mother earlier this week. It was solemn, as funerals are, but also quietly connective — a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with family we don’t see often, to remember, to mourn, to catch up in low voices between long pauses. The day itself was cold […]
The Middle of January and the Work of Carrying On Read More »
I want to share something I’ve been working on quietly. Over time, I’ve noticed how often teachers describe being tired in ways that don’t quite sound like burnout—and don’t quite lift with rest. It’s not always about workload alone. It’s often about accumulation. Attention. Emotional labor. The cost of caring deeply, day after
A Teacher’s Guide to Burnout, Boundaries, and Renewal Read More »
A Perspective Shifts reflection for early-career teachers That first morning back The first day back after a break always has its own kind of hush. I’ll tell you what I mean. I used to pull into the lot a little earlier than I needed to. It was still dark enough that the building
What Comes After the Quiet Read More »
Over the break, I found myself playing around with AI—not for lesson plans or productivity, but for fun. Curiosity, mostly. I stumbled onto a tool that lets you re-create images, and before long Kelli and I were laughing our way through a whole run of Christmas-themed pictures. Some were silly. Some surprisingly clever. All of
The Quiet After the Break: Re-Entering the Classroom Without Reinventing Yourself Read More »
Happy Holidays, friends. Wishing you a season of rest, renewal, and light—whether you’re gathered around a Christmas tree, lighting the candles of Hanukkah, or simply pausing at the end of a long semester. 🎄 ✨ 🕎 ✨ 🎄 The holidays arrive wrapped in familiar language—joy, love, peace. And rightly so. We see it in the
Keeping the Light Alive: Hope in the Classroom This Season Read More »
Lessons from Aging, Reflection, and Renewal at Year’s End Saturday morning, Kelli and I attended our granddaughters’ dance recital. The auditorium was full—the kind of crowd that leans forward without realizing it. Parents held up phones, grandparents smiled through misty eyes, and the music carried that familiar mix of excitement and nerves that only a
Teaching as Soul Work Read More »
Series: This post is part of Policy in the Classroom. See the full series → A Policy & the Classroom reflection This and the following two policy posts summarize the themes woven through the earlier pieces in this series. The Question That Changes Everything It was a gray Tuesday morning — the kind where
The Trust Gap: Why Teachers Feel Scrutinized but Not Supported Read More »
A Thanksgiving Conversation That Stayed With Me We had a full house over Thanksgiving week—an open house where everyone finally got to meet Rosebud, our one-year-old granddaughter, along with her parents, Scott and Leigh, who hadn’t been back since her birth. Then Thanksgiving dinner, which in our home always seems to swell beyond the number
Teacher Voices II: What Teachers Are Saying This Year Read More »
The Stillness Before the Doorbell Rings We’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, and most of the family will be here. It’s exciting… and a lot. Kel loves the preparation — the lists, the cleaning, the organizing, the quiet satisfaction of making the house ready for people we love. Me? I pitch in, but I’ve never
A Thanksgiving Pause: Rest, Renewal, and the Quiet Work of Gratitude Read More »
The Drive West Kelli and I drove to Pittsburgh the other weekend to see our granddaughter, Rosebud, on her first birthday. The drive out and back was filled with the beauty of autumn—trees lit up in yellows, oranges, and reds, whole hillsides shimmering in the afternoon sun. The soft hum of the tires underneath us
Turning Inward: The Spiritual Wake-Up Call of Midlife and Beyond Read More »
