I’ve made a lot of promises in my life. I’d like to think that I kept most of them but the truth is I haven’t. I don’t think I’m too much different than most people. I have good intentions and reasons, but then again, I can justify almost anything. It’s a skill I’ve gotten quite…

The barbeques were lit up in front of the school last night. They were manned by support workers who managed to keep hamburgers and cheeseburgers coming. It was an informal way for the community to get to meet the new teachers. I like the idea of a Meet the Teacher barbeque night. It allows everyone…

I want to rant about a few things that I don’t like about my new school. I know that I shouldn’t. Every school is different and there is a period of adjustment that I have to work through. That’s fine. But what is with this so-called “balanced day schedule” that most schools seem to be…

As an experienced teacher, I can tell when something doesn’t work and when it is time to move on. I know that there has only been three days of school so far, and it might sound a bit early to give up on anything, but I know it’s time.The experiment was a failure. I was…

“Have you ever said, “Mom, Dad, Teacher, Don’t you trust me?” An adult who hears this might want to say, “What do I have ‘Dumb’ written across my forehead. Of Course I don’t trust you. You’re a kid, and kids aren’t old enough to know … Of course I don’t trust you. I’m a teacher…

I finally got the Internet at home. And I must say that you can surely get lost in the World Wide Web. I used to be content with just an hour online a day. I still am. I’m not sure what I did after that hour but I didn’t log off. I stayed on and…

I’ve spent most of the past two weeks at my new school. I’ve cleaned and organized my classroom. I’ve hung up banners, posters, and decorated my bulletin boards. I’ve extensively planned the first day of school. I’ve drawn up a rough plan of the entire school year. I’ve typed up a newsletter to go home…

“We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes. Please stay on the line and your call will be answered in priority sequence.” I’ve heard this automated response dozens of times from different companies. The first time I heard it was when I was on the phone with the gas company. To the gas company’s credit,…

“Garbage day! Can we go see Mom?” Remember when you used to do that? I’m sure every young boy thinks that garbage day is an event. But like all events, things aren’t the same as they used to be. I remember watching the garbage truck pull up to the curb. Two men would jump off…