Thank you to everyone who tuned in for my end-of-year livestream reflection . If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I’m happy to chat!
Here are Substack posts from the school year that I mention in the video.
Turn the Lights Back On
I love listening to music. Sometimes the right song hits perfectly. In the evenings, we often crank up the volume and have a family dance party. Sometimes, my wife and I get into a particular mood, and play a nostalgic album from high school. Other times, I
Getting Excited
Every year I get to start over with a new group of students. But before they enter my classroom, I spend a lot of time in my head. I reflect on the previous year and make sure my mindset is ready for a new group of learners. Dedicated readers to this Substack know what my
Dialectic Notebooks
I remember the first time I read Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I purchased the Bantam Classic 1892 Edition after watching Dead Poets Society for the first time. I remember being mesmerized by the film. In fact, I still get goosebumps every time I watch the scene when Mr. Keating, played by the incomparable Robin …
The Power of the Short Story
At the beginning of this school year, I had a choice to make. In 2022, our district adopted a very popular, standardized reading curriculum in order to drastically improve student reading scores. Last year was a pilot year with the expectation being that teachers were
TSRG.v.2.0
Last year, feeling frustrated about the impending mandated reading curriculum, I decided to make book clubs a more central part of my classroom literacy experience. Up until then, my literacy instruction included teaching Depth and Complexity icons and annotation through a few class novels. In between novels, I would teach isolated reading strategies us…
Pit of Despair
December is dark. I drive to school on these cold mornings in the dark. The honeymoon has ended. The first semester is coming to a close. My students and I have fallen into our routines; everyone knows the expectations. There is consistency, but also boredom. Students begin to push academic and behavior boundaries. More often than not, it is too cold fo…
The Measure of a Teacher
This week, my students took a couple of standardized tests. The goal is to provide formative feedback for academic growth in mathematics and reading toward state standards. Students took the same tests in August, and will take these tests again at the end of the school year.
Finding a Path Instead of Forging the Road
One of the most defining features of having an extended break from teaching, is the gradual returning of ease that always accompanies rest. Depending on how long I’ve been teaching before a break, it can take anywhere from 5-7 days before my mind and body no longer feel the frenetic grind of the typical school day. I am …
The Scary Teacher
Recently, I had an education consultant teach a mathematics lesson to my students. Our school district hired a consulting agency to coach teachers to incorporate workshop teaching into our mathematics instruction. I wasn’t unhappy when I first learned about this initiative. I’ve been teaching mathematics
Same Way Same Day
Reading scores are continuing to decline nationwide. In Colorado, where I teach, our scores are stagnating, though the gap between our highest and lowest performing students is widening. As a result, this year our school district decided to revamp our PLC (Professional Learning Community) process with
By Heart
I’ve always loved the idiomatic phrase, to know something by heart. Aristotle considered the heart to be the center of intelligence and emotion, and while the actual idiom by heart probably originated from an Old French phrase (c1200), par cœur, Chaucer popularized use of the phrase
Closing Time
Last week, my fifth-graders had their continuation ceremony. The last day is always bittersweet. We have all been counting down to the last day of school, but when it finally arrives, it’s scary to say goodbye to elementary school. For many students, they have been in the same building since Kindergarten, and the thought…
Summer Reading
Having too many books to read this summer is a great problem to have. As soon as school dismissed, I read John Warner’s latest book, More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI. If you are interested, I wrote a bit of a book review.
I also read Peter Shull’s excellent novel, Why Teach? I absolutely loved it! Stay tuned for a Reading Recommendations post about it this later this summer.
Henry Oliver has been raving on The Common Reader about Middlemarch and George Eliot for quite some time. I decided to throw myself into Eliot’s provincial web, and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. I’m listening to the audiobook, narrated by the wonderful Juliet Aubrey and following along in the Penguin Classics edition.
I also found a wonderful book club, hosted by haley larsen, phd from Closely Reading. They just happen to be reading Middlemarch, and was kind enough to let me join. The discussion is lively and I appreciate Larsen’s summary and analysis of each section.
A couple of books from my TBR pile
Our school staff is reading Revolutionary School Culture by Amen Rahh in the fall. I’m looking forward to discussing his principles with our school administration.
I picked up Robert MacFarlane’s book, Is a River Alive? based on Maya C. Popa’s recommendation. I started perusing the book, reading a few pages intermittently. MacFarlane’s prose is beautiful. I’m excited to begin this book!
I will be back on Monday with another regular post. In the meantime, I hope you are either enjoying your last few days with students or are finally starting your summer.
Have a great weekend!
— Adrian
Join me for my next live video in the app.
Resources
Here are a couple of miscellaneous resources I mention during the livestream. Enjoy!
This video is so inspiring about what is possible when you create a school culture that honors student voice! I’m already speaking with my principal about what it would take to get a graffiti wall in our elementary school.
WhyTry Episode 023: Principal Amen Rahh
Principal Rahh is a guest on the WhyTry podcast, discussing his book, Revolutionary School Culture: The 6 Principles of Unlocking Your School's Hidden Treasure.
