Dear Maia, I’m wondering if you have any suggestions on how to best plan out your summer time? I’m trying to adjust my organization system now that I’m not teaching (no lessons to prep, copies to make, etc). I would LOVE to see a post about how…
As you know by now, I’m obsessed with all things organization in service of our success—and our sustainability. I am not, however, a devotee of any particular tool, paper or electronic. Finding the right organizational tool is like finding the…
We have all experienced that dreaded night-before feeling. . . Back when I taught all subjects of fifth grade (this was before the days of “just Google it”), this question dominated my entire existence. I’d get through one day, and then it was on to…
When I was teaching in Baton Rouge, my classroom was a “t-building.” This is code for a trailer located outside the regular school building due to overcrowding. Email was just emerging as a daily communication tool, and cell phones were only for…
One of the biggest differentiators between Together Teachers and less-Together Teachers is how they empower their students to take real responsibility in the classroom. Now, before you start picturing Kindergarteners feverishly grading essays with…
Meet Drew. He’s a great guy. Drew is in his fifth year of teaching second grade in Washington, DC. I met Drew when he attended a Together Teacher workshop in Philadelphia in the summer of 2011. He captured perfectly why being an organized…
As we know all too well, teaching is not the kind of job where we get to run out to grab lunch. Even if we sometimes do, the grab is more like a mad dash in the 15 minutes between recess duty and teaching… without any time to actually eat said…
Lest you start to think I’m some kind of robot who only produces worksheets to help keep teachers organized, occasionally, I’m going to keep you on your toes by letting you in on my personal life. Because, yes, I do have one! And it is one of the…
Now I don’t mean to start a blog post with such a violent title, but notebooks are not as effective as we think they are. Why, you may ask, as you cling to your beautiful Moleskine black-bound notebook or your beloved spiral? Why I Hate…