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For as far back as I can remember being a newspaper-reader, Randy Cohen’s “The Ethicist” column in the New York Times has been a favorite weekly read. In it, Mr. Cohen provides pointed, and sometimes-snarky, ethical advice to reader-provided moral problems. I enjoy reading “The Ethicist.” Though I don’t think his moral philosophy is necessarily superior to anyone else’s. But the succinct way in which he provides worthy advice for those without guidance always impresses me. It’s also, as I said, fun to read. I will forever remember that one time, almost 5 years ago, when he skillfully responded to one of my…
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“Mr. K, what am I supposed to do? There ain’t no more desks.” -Tardy student, observing that her tardiness led to the denial of an opportunity to find a good desk in the classroom. This first week has been somewhat of shock to my system–albeit a positive one. Having just finished a semester in which…
read more »The first day of school rolled around and, without much fanfare, everyone made it through alright. My own first few days were uneventful; I had a solid start and I’m ready to work for a new (and old) set of students. But what was particularly interesting about this year was that many extra eyes–from around…
read more »“Teachers, when the tardy bell rings, close and lock your doors. Do not let any students in after the bell. All students in the hallway will be swept into ISS [in-school suspension].” -Administrator, outlining school’s new hall sweep plan and receiving thunderous applause from staff in return. The sound of these words were beautiful. My…
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TFA is a data-driven organization. We have mastery trackers, reading growth trackers, attendance trackers, behavior trackers–you name it. If there’s a dimension to a child’s education that has yet to be quantified, I will bet that someone in TFA–whether a current CM or staff–is coming up with a decent, valid, aligned, efficient way to measure…
read more »What causes students to fail? I don’t mean “fail” as in “I am going to fail geometry class”; rather, I mean “fail” as in “you are a failure in life.” (Or maybe, “fail” as in FAIL blog.) I was spurred to think about this after noticing a brilliant, concise post that offers 20 reasons for…
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I realize that I’ve forgotten to answer a question that many readers may have been asking recently: where am I teaching this coming school year? I’m happy to report that I will, believe it or not, be returning to my old school. The explanation is complicated (I don’t even fully comprehend how it happened either),…
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Observers like to point out that TFA is a cult. We have bounteous acronyms that only we, as CMs, know. We all have identical–or, at the very least, extremely similar–views on the achievement gap. We all go through the same indoctrination process, the same rites of passage. We all have, as a result, similar teaching…
read more »Summer brings with it transitions of various kinds. First, a climatic transition, in which the lesson is learned that there is a direct correlation between clothes worn and sweat excreted. Second, a mental transition, from a state of pure focus to one of less-than-pure-and-more-like-relaxed focus (“it’s summer-time!”). Third, a physical transition, away from the spaces…
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I could tell that, as soon as he walked into the room, his real-life physical stature aligned extraordinarily well with his prominence in the Obama administration. His arrival, too, elicited a collective sigh of relief from the crowd crammed so tightly within the space that four sound-proofed walls had created. We really wanted to see…
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