Stay current on industry changes to maintain job flexibility if and when you need it. As a teacher, the job market can be a tough place. In a field where competition is high and landing your ideal placement takes patience, you won’t want to fall behind on shifts and general goings-on in the job market. … Read more
Well, I hope you’re having a nice productive weekend and are ready to get a new week started. I know that we have some international readers, but in the United States, we are celebrating Independence Day this weekend. While you have some time left in the weekend, here are some cool things you can fill it with. A … Read more
By far one of the most successful early posts on this blog was 6 Motivation Techniques. I wrote it in March of 2007, as I was approaching the end of my fifth year of teaching. Now more than nine years later, I realize I was onto some good ideas, but I was off base. In … Read more
In this article, Aileen Pablo examines the issue of classroom safety, especially regarding younger students. So often, we take basic safety knowledge for granted and forget that we learned those lessons at some point. Teachers and schools aren’t just responsible for educating children; when kids are in their “custody” for the school day, they are also … Read more
Another school year has come and gone. For many of us, it was a year of a few huge successes, a few colossal failures, and a whole lot of in-betweens. This article discusses how those colossal failures can propel you toward being a much better version of yourself. Every failure is an opportunity I love … Read more
You want me to teach what? Imagine my surprise the first day of my job one year when I found out that I was teaching Music History and that there was no curriculum for the class, no budget for it, and no textbook. The class was used to fulfill the fine arts credit that student needed to graduate, … Read more
Being a teacher is one of the most stressful jobs a person can have, and if you’re a teacher, you will know that one of the most stressful periods during the job occurs in the first year. Being a new teacher means that you will have to face the struggles and difficulties that all new jobs … Read more
“I got your lesson plans right here, buddy!” You know the drill, spend hours creating a lesson plan weeks ahead of the class that you don’t even stick to because the students fell behind last week  and now you’re playing catch up trying to make magic happen. I know. Or an administrator drops by expecting to see your lesson plan … Read more
This is an updated version of one of the first articles written on this blog about treating education as a part of the customer service industry. The article was originally posted on February 24, 2007. It was edited and updated on June 15, 2016 to reflect a maturation in my approach to teaching as well as writing. You … Read more
I want you to watch the first 3:40 of this TED Talk by Benjamin Zander Notice the Dramatic change in the piano player from 7 years old to 11 years. Huge difference. But from 8 to 10, there is seemingly no change. What’s happening is incremental change. Each year, the child improves dramatically, but it … Read more