Hired, Fired, Inspired

We are two-thirds of the way through our school year. Usually, this is the time period in which students start to get antsy. Winter is dragging on, gray skies remain consistent and school breaks are rare. While that may be the case again this year, I also find myself becoming increasingly unsettled as the year…

In a couple of weeks we will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Twitter. That once blurry, unfamiliar space for sharing ideas has flourished into a terrific resource for information – especially for teachers. I have worked in my current school district for 11 years, since before Twitter existed. In that time, the district-driven professional development for…

Introduction: This post was written on August 17, 2013. It was originally intended to be posted that week. However, events transpired that made it difficult to publicize a post with a theme centered on compassion toward students. Since two and a half years have passed, the topic of this post has caused me much reflection.…

I believe in justice. Ever since I was little, I have always rooted for justice. It provides me with a sense of peace knowing justice has been served. Not only that, but when I see injustice it burns deep and affects all areas of my life. In my 10-year career and even before as a…

The annual North Dakota Council of Teachers of English conference in Mandan this week provided ND English teachers the opportunity to collaborate and reflect on their profession. One of the sessions involved discussing a Young Adult Literature text in small groups. The book, Period 8 by Chris Crutcher, is popular among young readers. It provided teachers…

It was not until this last year that I realized teachers’ careers are more vulnerable than ever. We are placed in a position to help students develop in a variety of areas: academically, socially, physically and mentally. The best teachers set clear expectations in all of these areas and push students to reach those standards.…

I’m going to be honest, one of my weaknesses is always believing the best in everyone. Students in my classroom hear me repeatedly say, “Be better tomorrow than you were today.” I consider a student’s mistakes or missteps to be an honest attempt at finding success – and sometimes my faith in humanity burns me.…

It has been more than a year since my last official post. It was the most difficult year in my professional career. My friend and colleague during the past 10 years, Aaron Knodel, was falsely accused of sexual abuse of a former student. Knowing the details of the incomplete investigation and understanding Aaron’s dedication to…

I am aware that it has been almost a year since I last posted. It doesn’t quite live up to the goals I established in my first post. However, after my last post in August 2014 an event occured that forever altered my perspective on education. After this event soon concludes, I will have a…