Working hard for the money: 2014 update
A few years ago, I posted a list of all the jobs I have held in my life in chronological order. It was an interesting exercise that I highly recommend.…
What were the three most important decisions of your life?
A recent Quora question asked, “What were the three most important decisions of your life?” I’ve been debating this question for almost a month, and I have finally settled on…
“Fun” is the word most often missing from education today. It’s practically nonexistent.
I have many goals as a teacher, but my primary goal, is to make school a fun and memorable place that kids want to return to daily. I want my…
Best Teacher Appreciation Day gift ever
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, my students presented me with a gift on Friday. The first was a PowerPoint presentation that explained why I was an excellent teacher. It…
A unicorn and the tendency towards loss aversion result in cleaner teeth and a new idea in behavior management.
The pre-gifting of the stuffed unicorn as a reward for the excellent behavior that we expected from my daughter during her recent dentist appointment was a stroke of genius on…
Teaching is not quite a minimum wage job, despite what my students may think.
My students were reading an article about the proposed increase in the minimum wage in their Time for Kids magazine. I was secretly listening to their conversation. Student #1: “If…
Affirmation from a Moth audience is unbelievable. Affirmation from a bunch of kids is damn good, too.
As a second grader, comedian and actor Jamie Foxx was so talented at telling jokes that his teacher used him as a reward. If the class behaved, he would entertain…
A teacher’s memory of 9/11
The following is a piece I wrote on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attack on our country. __________________________________________________________________ I was teaching my third graders when my classroom phone rang…
The most critical lessons that I teach my students each year
As I prepare to re-enter the classroom next week for another year of teaching, I was thinking about some of the most important lessons that I will attempt to impart…
My book launch included three very special people
Last night’s book launch at Barnes & Noble was wonderful, and I thank all of my friends and family and fans for their support. We had about one hundred people…
