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There are moments in the school year when teachers are expected to be everywhere and everything: joyful, creative, generous, festive, responsive, and engaged, at work and at home. This stretch of the calendar often coincides with winter, family obligations, financial pressure, and emotional fatigue. Here’s the truth we rarely name: you cannot give 110% to everything without paying for it later. This week’s reminder is permission-based and protective: Some things only need you

The 12 Gifts of Learning (That Never Come in a Box) You don’t need lights, snow, or candles to know this time of year brings reflection, connection, and possibility. With all the focus on gifts, let’s celebrate the intangible gifts we teach and nurture every day. Across grade levels, content areas, and communities. On the first day of learning, we explored and found: A chance to be seen authentically. On the second day of learning, we explored and found: Two kinds of courage

Student agency does not appear by accident; it grows in classrooms where teachers intentionally create space for curiosity, voice, ownership, and authentic decision-making. Agency flourishes when students see themselves as capable thinkers whose choices matter. Today’s Fundamental Friday focuses on the conditions teachers design (not just the tasks students complete) and how those conditions elevate agency as a core function of learning. When students have agency, they move f

Every year, Black Friday draws out a particular kind of shopper: the ones who set alarms before dawn, bundle up, stand in long lines, and walk into stores with purpose. These shoppers know precisely what they’re looking for, and they move with intention. They compare options, read reviews, strategize routes, and commit their time because they believe the payoff is worth the effort. Watching the energy of Black Friday unfold is a reminder that people are willing to work hard,

Storytelling as a Teaching and Learning Tool Why Storytelling Matters Storytelling is more than a teaching strategy; it is a human connector. Stories invite students into learning with emotion, context, and purpose, transforming information into something memorable and meaningful. When we build lessons around narrative structure, we honor the way the brain naturally learns: through patterns, connections, and lived experience. What Storytelling Does for Learners Stories create

Fundamental Friday: Building the Fundamentals of Inquiry Learning In every classroom, inquiry begins the moment a student wonders. That spark (small, curious, sometimes messy) is the first step in a cycle that shapes deeper thinking: Wonder → Explore → Investigate → Create → Reflect → Share. Inquiry isn’t a strategy you sprinkle on top of instruction; it is the structure that brings learning to life. It gives students a reason to think, a purpose to explore, and an authentic

The Urge to Connect Educators are relational by nature. We thrive on connection, conversation, and community. In schools, where the lines between personal and professional often blur, it can feel natural to share pieces of our lives with colleagues. We talk about our families, our frustrations, our health, our exhaustion, and sometimes, our opinions about leadership or coworkers. What begins as a harmless conversation can quietly cross into oversharing, altering how we are pe

Fundamental Friday: Approach with a Candle “Some will see your flame and want to blow it out… others will approach with a candle.” —...

Fundamental Friday: Reimagining Tradition in Public Spaces Every October, schools across the country prepare for costume parades, themed...

When Classroom Management Becomes Emotional Exhaustion There is a quiet exhaustion that can settle into even the most seasoned teachers....

Fundamental Friday: Learning How to Fail Failure. For many of us, that word still carries weight; red ink on a paper, a closed door, a...

Fundamental Friday: "Explain It to Me Like I’m in Kindergarten" Isn’t a Step Back, It’s the First Step Forward The first time a student...

Fundamental Friday: Becomes, Not Outcomes In education, we often hear the term' outcomes.' Test scores. Graduation rates. College...

Fundamental Friday: Sarcasm Isn’t a Classroom Management Tool Oh, wonderful. Another teacher is using sarcasm as a classroom management...

Blue When I explain what an evaluation rubric is (for teachers or any professional context), I often refer to it as the foundation of...

There Is No Such Thing as a "Curricular Disability" I have heard educators say, “I taught it, they didn’t learn it.” Let’s pause here. If...

I received (not once, but twice) the end-of-the-year “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty” award from an organization I worked for. On the...

This week, as my daughter shows her rabbits as part of 4-H at the county fair, I am reminded of the unique and essential role...

In the fall of 2020, I remember walking past the local playground. The swings were wrapped in yellow caution tape. The climbing structure...

Rewriting the Script on Parent Partnerships As educators prepare to launch a new school year, a familiar narrative is resurfacing across...