During preservice a few years ago, I ran into a group of new teachers at lunch. We had a brief conversation about where we worked. When they heard where I taught, a PRTF (Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility), one of the teachers said, “Good for you. I couldn’t work with THOSE kids.” I said, “You do realize when THOSE kids leave […]
They are getting ready to walk through your door for the first time. They are waiting to see how you will greet them. They are going to judge if they will like you. Will you like them? They are feeling excitement and curiosity and anxiety and maybe a little fear. A new school year is a big chapter. It’s a […]
I’ve been through a lot. That’s not an excuse. It’s a fact. I don’t want to share what happened to me and I actually really don’t like when people think they have a right to know. You don’t. It’s my story and I’m not ready to share it. I may never be ready. But what I need you to understand […]
That one interaction changed the way I teach. It changed everything. The student wasn’t a good student and most of the time was difficult to even like. He was one of THOSE KIDS. He had been suspended and expelled and recently kicked out of an alternative school. He had been arrested and incarcerated. He had a reputation that proceeded him. His peers feared him and his […]
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