Traditionally, elementary school teachers have been isolated from other teachers spending the majority of their day alone with students. This egg crate model of teaching has been the way it’s done in elementary education since we were in school. Teachers who work in the same building and share a wall between classrooms might not ever...Read More

My wise friend Bill Hogan recently shared a line from “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”: “Everything will be all right in the end … if it’s not all right, then it’s not yet the end.” I am grateful to him for sharing that with me. There is something calming, reassuring and hopeful about its message....Read More

You have heard the term “helicopter mom,” I am sure. It certainly has worked its way into our vernacular. Sneaking in right behind it is another term, “the snowplow mom.” The former hovers nearby to make sure all is well. The latter clears the road ahead of obstacles that lurk. Personally, I am not a...Read More

Aunt Betty died. I know you do not know my Aunt Betty, but I am confident that each of you had (or have) an Aunt Betty in your life. In recent years, our visits consisted of my sitting at her feet and sharing stories. In earlier years, I was her audience and she wove the...Read More