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In a profession built on standards, pacing guides, learning targets, and measurable outcomes, the idea of provoking uncertainty can feel counterintuitive. We are trained to plan for clarity, anticipate misconceptions, scaffold understanding, and ensure students “get it.” Structure matters. Purpose matters. Intentionality matters. So does discomfort. Growth doesn’t happen in certainty. Growth happens when certainty is disrupted. Some of the most powerful learning moments I’ve

There was a middle school student who struggled deeply with executive functioning. Not ability, not intelligence, but organization, follow-through, and managing materials. A team of caring teachers stepped in as a coordinated support system. They helped the student track assignments, gather needed materials, and use time intentionally so work didn’t disappear into the backpack void. One of those teachers also saw the student later in the day during study hall. Rather than let

I once entered a classroom for an unannounced observation, following the principles of the Danielson Framework. It was day four or five of a literature project. Students were everywhere, on the floor, at tables, clustered around whiteboards. Drafting skits that represented different moments from the novel they’d been studying. Instead of interrupting, I quietly sat at the teacher’s desk. Her plan book was open, goals and objectives clearly outlined. A stack of graded work wai

In education, we often talk about collaboration as a core value, teamwork, shared vision, and collective efficacy. Schools also operate within systems shaped by competition: rankings, test scores, college acceptances, grants, awards, and scarce resources. The tension between these forces can either fracture a learning community or fuel innovation and growth. The difference lies in how leaders frame (and model) the line between competition and collaboration. Competition, when

Finding and Using Our Voice in Leadership “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” ~Madeleine Albright In educational leadership, our voices are shaped over time. Through experience, reflection, missteps, courageous conversations, and moments when we chose to speak up even when it felt uncomfortable. Finding our voice is not about volume or authority; it is about clarity, purpose, integrity, and alignment with our

More than a decade ago, when I was naming an educators’ guild, we chose Cognitive Dissonance. The name wasn’t clever; it was honest. At the time, many educators were experiencing real discomfort as we began to understand how virtual worlds and MMORPGs supported motivation, collaboration, feedback loops, persistence, and identity; constructs deeply aligned with lesson design and learning theory. What clashed was not evidence, but belief. We were confronting the tension between

A few weeks after I left a leadership role, one of the principals I had supervised reached out with a simple text: “I miss the way you...

Choosing to work in public education is not simply a career path; it is a calling to serve entire communities. If you are entering public...

Grace is often spoken of in religious contexts, but it is also a profoundly human value. At its core, grace is generosity without...

Fundamental Friday: Integrity at the Interview Table When educators and leaders pursue new opportunities, the unspoken tension often...

Educational leadership requires both responsiveness and deliberation. Leaders are constantly balancing the need to act quickly in the...

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

When Myth Becomes Mandate Political mythology is powerful. It shapes national identity, stirs collective pride, and offers narratives of...

To Be Credible, We Must Be Truthful Innovation thrives on trust. Trust has only one unshakable foundation: truth. We can talk about...

Day One Leadership: More Than a Welcome Back The first day of school is more than a calendar date; it’s a tone-setter. For students, it...

It’s easy to hang a “Portrait of a Graduate” on the wall. It’s bold. It’s visionary. It captures the kind of human we want to send out...

Summer in education is a break and a bridge. A quiet, necessary pause between the final bell and the next chapter. The school year is...

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the foundations of schooling, many of us found ourselves looking up and seeing no clear direction....

Start with Care. Stay with Care. This week, let’s remember: Innovation doesn’t grow from strategy alone. It grows from trust. Trust only...

Leadership isn’t about waiting for the perfect moment; it’s about creating momentum. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” ...