Eduholic

Back to School

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:45:27 -0500

Never thought I’d be starting a blog post with that title on Monday, June 29. But here it is, 12:28 in the AM, and once again I’ve woken up in the middle of the night with back to school jitters....

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Sandwich

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:20:35 -0500

Here’s some stuff I’ll remember from my Father’s Day weekend: Getting almost five-year old Will an early birthday present of a new fishing rod and, on the very first cast into not so picturesque...

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Closing Time

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:23:21 -0500

I just finished teaching what may be the last English class of my career. It snuck up on me, but there it is. Next year I’m stepping out of daily teaching to focus on my role as Dean. I’ll still have...

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Little Blue Marble

Fri, 29 May 2009 11:12:23 -0500

This week, two visitors from the Swedish embassy came to school in search of Climate Pilots. No, these aren’t cosmonauts soaring above the skin of earth’s atmosphere. They are households willing to...

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Shezzed Clean

Thu, 07 May 2009 18:06:20 -0500

Last night when the dishes were done, with the boys upstairs not fighting in the bath and my wife connecting with an old friend on the phone, I opened the back door to look at the rain. It...

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Word Shakers

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:55:33 -0500

An excited group of 8th graders is a skittish beast. Believe it or not, they are capable of engaging in deep discussion with a little teacher snake oil. In fact, I think the techniques I’m about to...

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School in a Box

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:19:47 -0500

We are wrapping up preparations this week for a big event in the life of any school, our five year accreditation with SACS-CASI. Having completed a school wide look in the mirror over the past half a...

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Trout

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:06:22 -0500

Caught one of these yesterday, all alone in the rain on Big Hunting Creek outside Catoctin Mountain National Park. As a chronically hapless angler, my efforts are generally rewarded just enough to...

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Open Goals

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:00:46 -0500

Last weekend I went to a soccer coaching clinic and a Piagetian seminar broke out. Gary Allen is the Director of Coaching Education for the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, and has played and...

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¡Hola!

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:28:07 -0500

Last Wednesday nearly seventy middle school students from Instituto Tepeyac, a private school in Mexico, transformed our gym into a celebration of their country and culture. Their visit was the first...

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Not It

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 10:48:01 -0500

Remember running after kids on the playground, tapping them under the slide with an unequivocal, “You’re it!”? Back when tag was a game, the rules were simple. Now that it’s an acronym for “talented...

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Tapestry

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:08:37 -0500

One of the first things I put up in my office for this new job was a quilted tapestry about three feet square. It’s an Amish star on a dark green background, composed of diamonds ranging in hue from...

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Making the Grade

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:49:27 -0500

Last week, Fairfax County changed its grading policy to adopt a “ten point” scale. In other words, instead of needing a 94 for an A and a 64 to pass, under the new system 90 or better bags an A and a...

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Singing America

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:36:30 -0500

In another corner of Teacher, editor Anthony Rebora is moderating a forum right now asking teachers a timely question: On January 20, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the nation's 44th president,...

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Plank by Plank

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 16:58:21 -0500

Here’s some stuff about building a book Annie Lamott never told us in Bird by Bird, her quickly classic writer's autobiography. Fortunately, I’ve got Andrea from Long Island to help me craft a...

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