Mary Beth Hertz

Self-Awareness and Human Connection

marybethhertz — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 22:31:26 +0000

Cultivating self-awareness allows us to see others as complete human beings, fostering deeper connections that can counteract societal division. A fascinating side effect of being an educator and parent of school age children has been a shift in how I perceive and interact with not just the families I work with, but with people in...

2024: A Year of Exploring Joy, Idealism, Community, and Purpose

marybethhertz — Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:39:09 +0000

The author reflects on the past year while contemplating four foundational questions regarding education, joy, humanity, and community. Transitioning to the role of Executive Director at Walkabout Education has emphasized the significance of authentic learning experiences. Looking ahead to 2025, they aim to foster meaningful connections and rethink educational spaces to support student development.

Let’s Not Oversimplify Students’ Cell Phone Use

marybethhertz — Sun, 09 Jun 2024 19:54:05 +0000

Back in May, I had the honor of writing a guest post on Larry Ferlazzo’s excellent Education Week blog. My post centered on the current dialogue around phones and young people and Jonathan Haidt’s “Anxious Generation” book. Since that dialogue is still going strong, I wanted to share it here.

Through the Looking Glass into 2024

marybethhertz — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 15:57:43 +0000

As the year comes to a close, some key questions arise: the purpose of education, finding joy, understanding humanity, and building community. In 2024, I aim to be present and appreciate life’s details, guiding myself and the young people I work with to discover their purpose and identity.

Life Lessons from the Garden

marybethhertz — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 01:09:59 +0000

This summer I have spent countless hours outside planting, weeding, trimming, mowing, replanting, clearing, building and rebuilding areas of my yard. As I work the soil, tend to plants, harvest vegetables and care for the living things around my house, I am often struck by how many lessons we can learn from the soil and...

EdTech is Dead–and maybe that’s OK

marybethhertz — Tue, 20 Jun 2023 12:30:00 +0000

“A good education helps us make sense of the world and find our way in it.” – Mike Rose, Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us I have been engaged in the educational technology landscape for over a decade. From the very beginning of the advent of “Web 2.0,” I was caught up in...

Building Walkabout Philly

marybethhertz — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 22:17:42 +0000

…when have I ever really accomplished anything? School work is not an accomplishment. I never get appreciated or anything for what I do. Either I miss out or I’m completely overlooked. But how can that be when I seem to have so much to offer?” Journal entry 10/07/1997 It was Spring of 1997, the end...

Supporting the LGTBQ Community While Attending The ATLIS Conference in Orlando

marybethhertz — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 15:33:54 +0000

In a few days I’ll be getting on a plane to Orlando for the 2022 ATLIS conference–my first one. I have mixed feelings about attending due to the recent Parental Rights in Education Bill that just passed in Florida. Specifically, this language: “prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels;...

Let’s Read “Teaching Machines”: An Informal Book Club

marybethhertz — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 15:27:13 +0000

This post is an introduction to an information book club conversation on Twitter centered around Audrey Watter’s new book, Teaching Machines. Information on the logistics and how to purchase the book are below. Continue reading for some context around why we are excited to read this book.

What I’ve Learned Over 7 Months of Pandemic School

marybethhertz — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 14:05:00 +0000

In the Spring of 2020, only a few weeks after schools closed for the pandemic, I got the exciting call offering me the Director of Educational Technology at Friends Select School in Philadelphia. At the time, we all figured the pandemic would peak by July and school closures seemed temporary and short-lived. Slowly, though, school...