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The Dream Teacher: August 2011
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Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Let's say a doctor has to have surgery. Do you think he walks into the operating room, holding his surgical gown closed with one hand and examining the instruments with the other? Does he look at the sheet that will cover him, checking to see if it's sterile? Does he check the temperature of the room, ensuring that it's at a comfort level that will be conducive to a successful surgery? I did have the opportunity, or let's say I made sure. She then sprawled out, in the jeans she ...
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The Dream Teacher: Identity Crisis
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Friday, January 13, 2012. So I'm not standing in front of my own classroom anymore. I'm proud to be a teacher-on-loan to my state's department of education (emphasis on teacher. I'm still very connected to my identity as a teacher, so much so that I tend to tell my teacher stories in present tense ( when I assign homework, I. I tend to lay my hand on their shoulders as I pass them in the hallway: "Excuse me, honey," and I'm confused when there's no reaction. There's no "Hey, Mrs. Rigsbee! I stood at the ...
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The Dream Teacher: September 2011
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Friday, September 23, 2011. And That's The Way It Is. I was reminded of that this week as I listened to my principal do the afternoon announcements just before he walked out of the school to head to another educational adventure. I wrote. About my principal's decision to accept another position and lamented on the emotions my colleagues and I were feeling. And the month he remained in the school after he shared his decision to leave was, as I heard someone describe it, the longest goodbye ever. Those sim...
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The Dream Teacher: November 2011
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Friday, November 18, 2011. Educators Make a Difference! At the end of my book, Finding Mrs. Warnecke: The Difference Teachers Make,. I asked readers to email me stories of the educators who've changed their lives, and I promised to share them on my blog. I hear these amazing stories every time I deliver a keynote speech, every time I talk to a class of pre-service teachers, every time I lead a workshop. But rarely do educators actually write. Don't ever let anyone tell you that we don't make a difference...
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The Dream Teacher: Teacher Love
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Thursday, May 31, 2012. It was really hard to imagine. But soon my son was born, and what a sleepy baby! I don't think he opened his eyes until the third day in the hospital. I was holding him on that day when the phone in my hospital room rang. My husband, on the other end of the line, asked, "What are you doing? Of them, and still do, just the same. Or The kids you'll get next year are so sweet. The answer is How, When, Where, and To What Extent) with "How, When, Where, and What's the Matter? In every ...
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The Dream Teacher: March 2011
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Saturday, March 26, 2011. I was delighted to receive an invitation from the Council of Chief State School Officers to attend the International Summit on the Teaching Profession. I was star-struck upon entering the room and seeing our Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. And AFT President Randi Weingarten. Marguerite Izzo, 2007 New York Teacher of the Year, served as the teacher representative, welcoming the other delegations to her state. Arne Duncan began by saying that the goal of the summit was to "str...
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The Dream Teacher: May 2011
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Monday, May 30, 2011. As a reading teacher, I teach my students to visualize the descriptions in the books they read. My principal refers to it as "the movie in their heads" when they can actually. What they're reading. While reading the. Trilogy, I visualized Katniss, and she became a friend during those books, one I felt I actually knew, one I missed once the books were completed. Series, for example. I haven't talked to one middle school child who can describe the character Edward from details in ...
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The Dream Teacher: Dr. LeRoy T. Walker, An Olympic Legend
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Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Dr LeRoy T. Walker, An Olympic Legend. We met while working together on an education committee in 1998. He was famous. I was honored when he presented me with a signed copy of his biography, An Olympic Journey: The Saga of an American Hero. He also gave me a United States Olympic Committee medallion, something I cherish to this day. My friend, Dr. LeRoy T. Walker, the man of so many accomplishments and so many stories, died yesterday. Say hello to Katherine for us. In my book, Fi...
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The Dream Teacher: April 2011
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Friday, April 29, 2011. A Sorta Fairy Tale. Tori Amos' song title is appropriate today as we watched a prince marry his princess.er. The title she was given by the Queen. It was. A fairy tale due to the pomp and circumstance, the regalia, the carriage ride, and the prince/husband. But in some ways it was the same story as my own son and his bride.just a couple of kids who met in school, went separate ways a few times, came back together, said "I will" and "I do" and hope to live happily ever after. In ot...
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The Dream Teacher: February 2012
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Sunday, February 26, 2012. Teacher Professional Growth - What Matters? I was 43 years old when I started working on a master's degree. These days it's common for teachers to pursue graduate degrees shortly after earning a bachelor's, but in 1979 when I started teaching, that was the exception. So I'd been teaching awhile when I applied to graduate school. My master's degree mattered. I remember asking myself a million questions while planning each lesson: how can I teach this better? Shame on you, Dr....