It was me and two other English teachers. We about had a knock-down-drag-out with a teaching guru visiting our district who told us in no uncertain terms: RUBRICS ARE BAD. We were told that the rubrics were slayers of creativity, that they stunted our students, and moreover, they were for Read more…
I blame Snapchat filters and Carmen Scoggins. First of all, Snapchat filters are fun, and even with two teen wannabes at home, I wish I had more excuses to play with it. So what did Carmen do at our FLANC spring fling? Give me the excuses. The filters are kind Read more…
I asked Meredith Clark if her session was really for people like me. I’m not from a very large district, and I’m only an “LOTE leader” there because they’re no longer paying anyone to fill any such role officially. But I really want to get my colleagues on board with Read more…
You know when you get a great idea at a conference that you can immediately implement Monday and change E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G? Well this isn’t one of them. I implemented it on Tuesday. We had an interdisciplinary marketing project thing scheduled with Public Speaking for Monday. Our AATSPSC keynote speaker pointed out Read more…
So you’ve got an authentic audience: real live native speakers in the same room with your students. Maybe you’re lucky like me and have a thriving Sister Cities exchange program. Maybe they’re some or your fourth period heritage speakers’ moms. Maybe they’re local business owners or the ELL class from Read more…
I got so many great tools and ideas from attending the CI workshop with Ben Slavic and Tina Hargaden, so conveniently located in my home state! I know I said I was going to “stay home and process,” but I figured I could handle two days within an hour’s drive, Read more…
I don’t think anyone would call me a TPRS teacher, though I’ve certainly dabbled in comprehensible input for years, and I will gladly sip some CI Kool-Aid when offered a fresh serving, whether through organized national conferences or a workshop conveniently passing through my home state. I recently got the Read more…
Going to iFLT last year was one of the most revolutionary professional experiences I have had–right up there with three years of grad school! However, after a year of lots and lots of traveling, I decided I needed the summer to stay put and process…after one more trip across the Read more…
While I would be DELIGHTED to come talk with you and your colleagues about whatever your little hearts desire related to life, language, and all things teaching, what I REALLY would love is for you to come see me and my kids in action this school year. Here’s why. 1. Read more…
Have you ever wanted to just sit down and talk shop–in more than 140 characters? Do you need someone from outside your district to preach the gospel of proficiency and performance-based assessment to incredulous colleagues? Is there something you’ve seen on PBL in the TL or #langchat that you’ve always wanted Read more…