Inspired by Dr. Justin Tarte’s post the other day…Among his brief list of assumptions (or current templates of thinking) that are suffocating the move forward to rejuvenate and revolutionize learning in North America, Tarte asserts that “[w]e can’t accept and continue to think that learning is limited to what happens within the four walls of … Continue reading A Move Forward →

Last week's Remembrance Day Ceremony at L.V. Rogers may have been the best one that I have attended as a teacher (ever!) in sixteen years. Ably led by Mr. Cross, Ms. Martin and her Leadership 9/10 class the service came across as one of near perfection.More to the point, I found myself pleasantly (and awkwardly) … Continue reading Expectations ARE Everything →

Reading guru, Dr. Stephen Krashen, spent time at the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' Association Summer Institute this past summer delivering the keynote address. Krashen's enthusiasm about reading is infectious (to say the least). And his message is clear: get kids reading what they love to read and the rest will follow (i.e levelers of reading need … Continue reading Reading Guru Stephen Krashen →

It might be a safe bet that there isn't a lawyer alive that would allow the paralegals in his office to spoof his profession. Yet, that's exactly what the teacher-librarians at Francis W. Parker K-12 School in Chicago did last spring. With the blessing of the school librarians, Grade 3 teacher Mike Ferbrache and counselor Duane … Continue reading You Won’t Find Your Accountant Doing This.. →

Courtesy of Nina MatthewsFor years I've planned to do this...really, I have. But (here comes the excuses) it seems that in every June the end of the year catches up and before you know it you're in summer mode. It happens all too fast. Every year.But, not this year...I recently read a very brief and … Continue reading The Story of Your Year →

I often wonder if a project could be done to extricate oneself and their relevant 'digital tattoo' from the World Wide Web and the Internet. Entirely. Completely.And I think that there was a time before social media and social networking that you might have had a chance. And now...? But when you study the graphic below, … Continue reading Too Much Information Online? (It’s not a good thing) →

At a recent staff planning day (where we are tasked, as a group of educators, to select a measurable school goal that we hope will increase student learning), but I was surprised at how much time and energy was focused on students' technology, more specifically, its use (inappropriate and ineffectual), and the obvious impact that … Continue reading Yes, Johnny, Manners Do Matter (technologically speaking) →

Whether we as educators like to admit it (or not), collectively we are going to have to change the way we do what we currently do in our classrooms as the move towards mobile learning and technology-for-learning begins to take on a greater role in education. And it appears that this is an expectation of … Continue reading Parents’ Thoughts On Technology-For-Learning →

An educator for over 40 years, Rita Pierson's TedTalk reaffirms why it is that I became a teacher and why I enjoy spending so much time with youth.http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swfThanks, Rita...

Even those of us that relish our jobs often have those moments of doubt; about where we wonder, "What is it that I really do around here?" Or "How do I make a genuine difference in the lives of the students and faculty that I serve?" Or "How do I make our school environment a … Continue reading A Reminder of What We Do →