Teaching Archives - Page 3 of 5

A reflective image of water currents meeting, representing the pressures and transitions young men navigate today.

When Young Men Fall Silent: What Teachers Can Learn from Their Struggle

Kelli and I are both members of the Delaware State Education Association Retired local. As members, we recently attended the Appoquinimink Food Service Union social — a lively event full of conversation and support for their contract negotiations. While there, I overheard someone mention a growing worry about young men and their mental health. That […]

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Beyond Burnout: How Spiritual Practices Can Restore a Teacher’s Authentic Voice

Psychology, Teaching / Dave

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

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The Masks We Wear: What Teachers Hide Behind the Smile

Psychology, Teaching / Dave

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.

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Archetypes in the Classroom: What the Sage and the Novitiate Can Teach Us About Teaching

Psychology, Teaching / Dave

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

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Teacher Voices: In Their Own Words

2 Comments / Education, Teaching / Dave

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

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Something New is Coming: Beyond the Grade

Teaching / Dave

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

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Holding Space: What It Means and Why It Matters

Psychology, Teaching / Dave

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

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Testing, Trust, and the Teacher’s Voice

Policy-in-the-Classroom, Teaching / Dave

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

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The Shift from Doing to Being: What Retirement Is Really Teaching Me

Reflection, Teaching / Dave

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

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Steaming coffee cup beside teacher’s lesson journal

The Teacher’s Quiet Curriculum: Why Spiritual Reflection Belongs in Education

Psychology, Teaching / Dave

Discover the quiet curriculum teachers carry into every classroom. Learn how spiritual reflection, mindfulness, and presence shape the inner life of teaching.

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