Do you lie to your students? Most peoples gut reaction is a quick no. I challenge you to take a moment to think about this. Our students come from a variety of backgrounds and issues. Some of these we know about. Some of them we don’t. If a person is raised in an environment […]
Silence
Silence. Silence would not be a word used to describe me. People who know me would probably be surprised to find out that I was a pretty quite, somewhat shy kid. It drove my dad nuts that I was shy and he worked hard to help me become confident. I began to come out of […]
Good Thoughts and Prayers
Whether you pray, or send good thoughts, a little boy I know needs them now. A little third grader fell off a roof Sunday and is in critical condition now. Freddy was in my class for part of the day last year when I taught second grade. He is a very sweet boy. I remember […]
Strategies for Dealing With Bullying
I used this video to start a conversation with my students about bullying. We had a fantastic discussion about this video. I loved listening in and hearing the students reaction. They were laughing and wincing. One of the students asked, “So, if someone bullies us, we should beat them up?!?” Isn’t that what a lot […]
People Can Only Chase You If You Run
When one of my students is bullied, I feel frustrated. There are things we can do to help, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough. I remember being little and being frustrated that kids would pick on me for being named “after a car”. My dad’s philosophy was that you have a choice in whether […]