If education truly valued learning, no child would ever feel dumb. Challenged, yes. Dumb, never. And challenged would, of course, be followed by supported. Anything else isn’t learning.

Learning necessitates challenge. Learning necessitates support. Learning is the spot between the challenged student and the supporting teacher, that place where the learner’s needs give rise to the teacher’s purpose. I believe this is the essence of our existence in education, a shared struggle to learn and grow. And, more, I believe that though the struggle is there, it is never a place nor an existence where a learner would feel inadequate or dumb. But, if one asked most–maybe all–classrooms to raise their hands if they’ve ever been made to feel inadequate or dumb, a mountain of hands would rise. And that is not okay.

It is perhaps one of the greatest wrongs we perpetuate in education, where ranking and sorting seem to take center stage, unfolding a drama that inevitably marks, among a number of things, kids “dumb.” Of course we don’t actually say, “dumb,” but that is what kids come to believe when we sort them. And dumb becomes dangerous. There are signs of this damage throughout our culture. Kids develop fixed mindsets about subjects (sometimes as early as kindergarten). Kids don’t ask questions. Kids don’t take risks. Kids hate school. Kids cheat. Kids hide–in plain sight.

But, if, as I said above, we truly valued learning in education, this should never happen. Why would a kid in a learning environment in the care of a supportive teacher ever feel dumb? Maybe we don’t value learning as much as we profess or pretend. Maybe we need to re-center ourselves around the noble charge of helping kids grow rather than the dangerous practice of sorting students.

And though I am not entirely sure how we right this monumental, institutional wrong, I think we make strides when we acknowledge and begin to amend.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…completing a Learning Check on Tone Analysis.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Tuesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Overslept a bit. Sorry. All that fresh, outside air made me sleep better I guess. Anyway, didn’t get enough–any–school work done this weekend, so I am scrambling a little this morning. Back on schedule tomorrow.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…reconnecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…reading and annotating a text for tomorrow’s rhetorical analysis.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Monday, everyone. It’s March!

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. I want to share a poem that one of my readers emailed yesterday. He is an elementary art teacher from Oklahoma. He wrote in response to his frustration with the system as a new-ish teacher. I think a lot of us old-ish teachers will find that his frustrations reflect many of our own. He offered it to me as a thank you, and I was moved, so I asked him if I could share it.

“In my frustration, I wrote this poem, and reflecting on it, I thought of you. You are an inspiration. I hope that you take this as a thank-you for publishing your story – both the ups and the downs.”

Thank you for letting me share your sentiments this morning. Keep teaching for yourself and the kids.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…tying up some loose ends.

…cultivating connections with Community Circle.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Friday, all. Have a wonderful weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Well, they didn’t boo me outta the room yesterday, so I think it went okay. I want to thank the AWSL (Greg Barker, James Layman, Joe Fenbert) for trusting me with my message to the young, prospective educators with whom I was lucky enough to share an experience. A separate, huge thank you to James Layman for turning a Twitter connection into a real life opportunity to connect some dots from our separate but same journeys as we strive to boost the lives of “these days’ kids” to their next levels. Thank you, my friend. Honored to now know you.

It was a great day. But for the little I gave, I took far more. Selfishly, I used the day to restore my resolve, to power my passion, to capture my courage for cultivating connections in the classroom. I will make it my life’s work. I know that sounds grandiose–even more so than usual, perhaps–but I am serious. Yesterday, was an awakening for me. I feel like a giant woke in me. And though I have a lot to consider regarding next steps and next levels for this work, I am resolute in this pursuit. Feel like I am starting a whole new journey, and all it took was talking with the future of our profession. Can’t wait to get started, to find the giant within so I can face the giant without.

Today’s Trail

Weird day today. Kids will be registering for next year during my class. Funny that I am not worried about lost instructional time. I am worried about lost connection time. Kills me that we won’t be able to do Smiles and Frowns today. Trying to devise a way to still connect. I’ll think of something.

Happy Thursday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Well, ready or not, here it is. Been up since 4:00 refining my presentation (once I figured out the hotel wi-fi), trying to get it just right, trying to find the sweet spot between enough but not too much. Eventually, I will just run out of time, and I will just have to go with it. It. But what is it?

Funny in these moments how one feels, how I feel. I’m sure it’s just doubt seeping in, maybe some signs of impostor syndrome, but I am struck by the “who-am-I-to-say?” conundrum of it. Why is my work worthy? What do I have to say that they want to hear? Who am I a but a teacher from Cheney, Washington? The questions continue, the doubts hover, but I guess I should know that’s all a part of it. It happens. And when it does, we just have to go with it; we just have to let it happen. So, I’ll just let it happen. All I can do.

Happy Wednesday, all. I will let you know how “it” goes tomorrow.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Short posts the next two days. Sorry. A little stressed and preoccupied with presenting tomorrow. A bit of a Nervous Ned, I tend to find myself singularly focused on these occasions. And since I am also the Prince of Procrastination, I truly find myself needing the last minutes, and at the moment, I am finding my minutes short, so I am going to deal with my manic mountain. Sorry.

Will check in briefly from my hotel room in the morning. Happy Tuesday.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Happy Monday, all. Wanted to share a connection I made with a teacher from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada last week.

Started with a tweet, sharing what one of my students cleverly did with our “words to watch” from last semester.

As promised, Omoyemwen delivered.

What started as a fun share on Twitter turned into an international collaboration. Thank you, Omoyemwen for connecting. Cool that miles don’t really matter. Excited to share this with my kids today.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…reconnecting with Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…completing our listening for tone activity.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Monday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Excited to share that I have been asked by the Association of Washington School Leaders (AWSL) and the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) to present at Future School Leaders Day next Wednesday, February 26 in Seattle. I will have the chance to share an experience with area student leaders who are interested in pursuing careers in education. I am grateful for this opportunity to connect and share some of my work. Thank you, James Layman, Greg Barker, and Joe Fenbert for trusting me at this stage of our young leaders’ journeys. Can’t wait. Thank you.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…”listening for tone” as readers, listeners, and viewers.

…considering how our own emotions, biases, and assumptions impact our ability to “hear” others, especially those with whom we disagree.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Friday, all. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

Morning, all. Busy morning for me. Have a meeting during my planning period, so I am off to school early to get my day set up. Funny how finite our time becomes, and though I advocated for slowing down with the kids yesterday, I often disregard my own advice and run into and through my days. So, I am off and running. Sorry, I couldn’t pause here a little a longer this morning.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience.

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…growing with grammar.

…”tweeting” an endorsement of a personal value (not actually on Twitter, just using the 280 character limit).

…”listening for tone” as readers.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.

I don’t know if slow and steady wins the race, but I let my learners set the pace. And that pace varies considerably, at all stages of the experience. Adverse to prescribed pacing guides, which are often sold as part of the “follow-with-fidelity” package or imagined as sacred sacrifices to the coverage deities, I look to my learners to set the speed at which we make our way through our learning. And while that may seem a sensible–maybe even noble–approach, If I am honest, it’s both a blessing and a curse as I try to reconcile the pace race that hovers and taunts from the outside with the “human happenings” on the inside.

And the outside pressure is prevalent. There are things that will be on “the test” that we will never get to. Never. And though that may impact some of my kids’ scores, I have resigned myself to this reality. Malpractice? Maybe. I suppose I have a duty to cover content. But, in truth, I have never once made it to the prescribed finish line in my twenty-four years of racing. I have never won that race, and now I have accepted that I never will, for I have given into the pressure within.

Inside the classroom, is the realest of realities. For inside the classroom is where the learners reside, and they provide the guide for the pace necessary for our work. So I keep up with them. Some days they speed up, even sprint. Some days they slow down, even crawl. Some days we make great strides forward. Some days we take giant steps back. And as we make our way through our some days, we take each in stride, for no two are the same. But each day, we experience learning, “humans happening” side-by-side, letting that be our guide.

I don’t know if that makes me a tortoise–maybe it makes me an ass, a stubborn one–but I can’t get into the pace race. Never have. Never will.

Today’s (slow) Trail

Along today’s trail we will experience…

…connecting through Smiles and Frowns.

…cultivating culture with Kindness Cards.

…publishing our personal values.

…hearing a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.