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Dear Chandra: “I Recognize You”

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I just posted this at voicEd.ca as part of a month-long initiative to encourage folks to write a letter to a beginning teacher. I could have written any number of letters, but this is the one that emerged on the night before the first day of school! It would be great to have others participate, … Continue reading →

Welcoming our Newest Colleagues: Letter to A Beginning Teacher

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The following was posted yesterday on voicEd.ca.  I would love to get contributions from south of the 49th parallel, so if this is something that captures your imagination, I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at stephen.hurley@sympatico.ca or on Twitter at stephen_hurley Feel free to share the invitation with your colleagues … Continue reading →

To Hope, New Teachers, and Re-awakenings

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com Request: I’d like to send the teachers in my care your way to learn like I did. I started this blog a little more than two years ago to voice what I was experiencing in my classroom and the systems I had worked in and was working in at the time. … Continue reading →

Danielson Evaluations?

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Does anyone have experience with the Charlotte Danielson teacher evaluation model?

Yes Men say “No”. An accreditor tells the truth

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com I was asked to sit on a panel of teachers to represent my school district during the accreditation process. I assume I was chosen because I am eager to speak in meetings and apparently speak well. This makes me think my administration has only enjoyed the sound of my voice and … Continue reading →

I’m Angry

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It’s Monday, and I’m angry. I’m angry because, after a weekend of careful planning, after differentiating an assignment for students who have mastered skills at different levels, after catching up on all of my grading, after getting my lesson plans in on time with the TEKS and the Reading Comprehension standards and the ELPS, I … Continue reading →

Independent Learning

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(Cross Posted from Life’s About the Journey) I saw this video on “The Independent Project” thanks to a shout out from my old principal Mr. Adams. Within minutes of checking out the premise of the project, their website and this video, I was fascinated and frankly, hooked. I think the idea behind a self motivated school … Continue reading →

Teachers as Activists Part One: Little “p” politics

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Recently, I attend a meeting of the Austin Social Justice Teachers Inquiry Group, during which we talked about… politics. A scary word in a school. Big “P” Politics referred to ways teachers can be involved politically beyond the walls of their classroom; little “p” politics meant bringing current events and social justice into lessons and … Continue reading →

Good Morning: A less than bland way to talk about Arts Education

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com I have two dreams that I have been able to articulate in my life. One is for me and the other is seemingly more benevolent. As I get older I see they can be intertwined. The first is to work as a performer. I want to be a musician, a dancer, … Continue reading →

A broken Hallelujah, of sorts, but a warm one

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com It’s Christmas Eve, or the start of it at least, and I can’t seem to stay asleep. I haven’t been able to really write for the past few months—not consistently. Things have been topsy turvy at best personally and professionally. As a teacher, I’ve been in a haze, as a human … Continue reading →

The Monday After Newtown

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I really hate coming to school the first day after a school incident somewhere else.  No one ever knows whether it will be a biggie to our kids or not, so we have to prepare and really think through how to support our kiddos.  I don’t mind that,  in fact, I want to be prepared … Continue reading →

Living with Pirates on Your Ship…and getting back to the teaching.

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com I’ve written a series of depressing posts. Perhaps I’m in my blue period as a teacher. I certainly find the mess surrounding me depressing. My conversations with teachers at my school are similarly hopeless. But, we are not without hope. Before proceeding, the juxtaposition of my position, and the position of … Continue reading →

Drowning as an Educator or Finding the Surface

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Originally and reluctantly posted at educatedtodeath.com Over the past few weeks I’ve struggled with my problem with top down models of education. I attempted to allow the thought “this is for the greater good” into my mind. I tried to hold it in my mind and make it fit. It only made me sick the … Continue reading →

Why I don’t “just find another job”

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Originally posted at educatedtodeath.com I have a bit of venom toward the system that employs me. It has been suggested that “if [I] don’t like it, then leave.” That suggestion discounts my reasons for staying, and indicates that I’m concerned namely with/for my own well-being. I can see how an outsider might see it that … Continue reading →

The fun we have

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Our quest to measure how frequently a skateboard wheel spins in a given amount of time continues. Working off of Twitter feedback (leave your feedback here) from Andrew Carle and Katie Mae, we built reed switches – circuits that use magnets to pull contacts together to complete themselves. We passed the reed switches through our … Continue reading →

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