I am tempted to articulate why I have been away from blogging for so, so long. I won’t waste your time with that excuse filled paragraph. It kind of doesn’t matter to be honest. Obviously, filling the gaps in the story of my experiences as an education worker over past year or so would also […]
Reflection and Self-indulgence
Blogging, Tweeting, Instagramming and other forms of social media sharing have become part of the daily grind for many educators. We may use these tools to share our latest classroom provocations, take a stand on a social justice issue, connect with educators from across the world or create a digital archive of our own practice. […]
Because of you…
It’s those unexpected, spontaneous moments that tend to happen right when you need them. After a busy week at the OLA Superconference and some stressful moments in my personal life, I was excited to return to school and do my “regular” job. Reconnecting with the kids and my colleagues was a welcome sense of the […]
When things don’t feel so magical…
The theme of my blog began as a way to capture those magical moments of being in education each day. The lack of posts over the last year doesn’t mean I am not having those moments each day in my role as teacher librarian in a busy K to 8 school. Those moments are plentiful […]
Expanding My Professional Learning Network
It’s been a very long while since I have posted here. And with that comes a strange feeling of guilt and hesitancy to even begin writing. (I also noticed going back through previous posts I open with this apologetic tone often.) But as I was debating whether or not to even begin a post something […]
There Are Bigger Hills Worth Dying On in 2017
I want to warn you – I am not coping well. I am not coping with the hatred, bigotry and lack of humanity I can’t stop watching and reading about on social media, 24 hour news cycles and newspapers. I am teary and angry and unable to stay silent. Truthfully, I am also at a […]
Why I LOVE My Child’s IEP (& hope their teachers do too)
Anyone who has navigated the special education system as a parent or caregiver knows that it is a challenge. The temptation when discussing these experiences is to focus on the bureaucracy, the labels and the barriers to learning and lack of understanding. I could also do the same. I could tell you with brutal honesty […]
Fear vs. Resistance
I work with amazing educators. Everyday I am challenged and inspired by the work we do and the conversations in which we engage. Day after day impromptu professional dialogue occurs – in hallways, emails, via text, in staff rooms, offices, the library – almost anywhere. These are not official meetings or scheduled workshops but rather […]
Is LEADERSHIP a Dirty Word?
For a wide variety of reasons I have been thinking about leadership recently. In conversations, professional reading, Twitter chats, professional goal setting and more, the word leadership keeps coming up. But so does this weird, uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. For some reason when I refer to myself as a leader or in […]
Why Language Matters to the Conscious Mind
Someone once told me that they stopped following my Twitter account because it was so “ADHD” – meaning I am too into everything. (I could unpack how offensive it was to use a term for mental illness as an adjective but let’s assume we can all agree on that one for now.) This critic could […]