Where to begin? After more than 30 years in the education field, I feel I have so much I can give back and share. The do’s and do not’s for beginning teachers, stories of how it used to be before calculators and technology; standards come and standards go; What math do kids really need to know to succeed? ; How my teaching changed after becoming a parent ; Teaching through sad times, happy times, “Some day we will walk on the moon”, Apollo 13, the World Trade Center, Iraq, Afghanistan; Moving from a small rural school district with little to no diversity to an urban area and teaching in the “toughest” school in the district.
What have I learned? Kids need to matter. Kids need caring. Kids need love. Nobody knows what that child went through before he came to school that day. Sarah did not get any sleep last night because she was hungry and cold. Luis met me at the door of the school this morning, even though I was there over an hour early. Why? He knew he could get warm in the cafeteria. You see his house doesn’t have a furnace or heating system. He comes from a migrant family, who lives in the housing supplied by the farming company.
Things have changed over the years, some for the good and some for the bad. Once thing for certain, it is never boring!
Teacher31415 