i needed them

I drafted this post on March 1st. I kept waiting and waiting for the perfect time to post this because it means a lot to me and it is a vulnerable post. Now, it's March 31st, and so I've got to post it. When we are learning to be teachers, I feel something that is…

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“i tripped”

Yesterday, I introduced a new "check-in" chart, per say, to my students. The chart is called "Above the Line/Below the Line" and it is simply a vertical line with a perpendicular line in the middle. It's basically the right side of a full graph. The idea behind this is for students to be able to…

the life of a writer

I've been thinking a lot about my life as a writer. I think I've even written about this before. Since I've been in my new apartment, I've had room to spread out my things (my notebooks, books, and pens) and make room to actually be creative in my own space. And, I thought that being…

absent

I've been absent for a couple of days. Friday was our last day before spring break. We had a half-day and I went down to Milwaukee to watch two of the March Madness games, one of them being the Badgers. I got up early Saturday morning to go to Madison from Milwaukee to watch Championship…

a list of things that made me happy today

I'm in a bit of a writer's block the past couple days. I am feeling so many things that they are getting tangled inside of me and not coming out on paper how I want them to. So, I've decided to focus on what I know for sure, which is a list of things that…

my first love

You have to understand When someone says "basketball" I don't think of a perfectly executed 1-3-1 I don't think of one of MJs last second shot still-frames No, When someone says “basketball” I think of a hot summer night no wind a million stars and a garage light on so I can see the ball…

what they will remember

As I've been writing these posts about all of my experiences as a teacher and interactions with my students, I stopped and paused to reflect on what I remember of my teachers. Immediately, I go back to my fourth grade year. I don't remember a ton from that year - mostly certain smells, colors, and…

amnestic second chances

I was in the hallway talking with my principal and partner teacher, deciding what to do about a situation that occurred at lunch with one of our students. Therefore, my attention was off of my classroom. After that got taken care of and I was about to re-enter, I had another one of my very…

“teach me”

I always do a board message each day for my students to answer. Today's was "Thoughtful Thursday". Usually, I write, "What is something thoughtful you can do for others today?" However, today I wrote, "What is something thoughtful someone else has done for you this week?" in an effort to focus their attention on what…

the silent game

This was a very challenging week with my students. I love them dearly and have great relationships with them, which I think in turn has made them feel very safe to be themselves in my classroom. Of course, this is the goal. However, sometimes I feel students can get too comfortable and forgot to treat…