Life In Notes

  Photos elicit memories.   When you teach, you bring your whole self into the classroom.  By the end of the year, my students have a really good sense of who I am and what I do.  They know a lot about me.  It is impossible to not bring your family into the classroom. Every year my students want to meet my wife, Mrs. Colton to them and my two sons, Jackson and Aidan.  It is a huge thrill when I bring them in and my family always feels like they are celebrities to the students. This photo was taken when my wife came in right before holiday break to work with the students on a holiday craft.  They were so excited to meet her and loved participating in the activity. It is so important as teachers, that we get to know the families of our students.  It is also important that our students get to know our families too. Las fotos evocan recuerdos. Cuando enseñas, traes todo tu ser al salón de clases. Al final del año, mis estudiantes tienen un muy bu...

One of the things that makes teaching so interesting is that every day is different.  There are some things like the routines of the classroom that are the same every day.  But...the responses, the questions, the schedule, almost anything can change daily.  It is important when teaching to make sure that you are providing consistancy and routine to the students,while also making sure you know how to "go with the flow". There is nothing static about teaching.  I could give a lesson one year to one class, then do the same lesson the next year and it could go in a completely different direction. I observe the class and listen to what they have to say.  If you listen, reflect and change...that is how you improve as a teacher. Una de las cosas que hace que la enseñanza sea tan interesante es que cada día es diferente. Hay algunas cosas como las rutinas del salón de clases que son las mismas todos los días. Pero... las respuestas, las preguntas, el horario, casi todo ...

  For the last three years, I have read a series of books about a mixed race family from Harlem named the Vanderbeekers.  The world of the Vanderbeekers is a beautiful one created by Karina Yan Glaser.  The family is filled with children, pets and a lot of love.  The kids regularly get into "good trouble" as I like to call it.  They are constantly on a mission to do the right thing, but the way they go about doing it is sometimes trouble inducing. We have been reading book #2 "The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden" and I came across this quote, "It was amazing how generous people could be without wanting or expecting anything in return."  The quote has always given me pause, but on this particular day, it made me take action. I repeated the line three times and we spoke about what it meant.  In our conversation, we discussed things that you can do for others without expecting anything in return.  Then we spoke about the kindness of others. I bro...