When my son, Jared, was in second grade, I came home from work to find him sitting on the couch. His head was down, his arms folded across his lap, and he looked upset.
“Jared, what’s going on?” I asked.
He sighed and said, “I had a really bad day ...
There’s a small sea creature called the sea squirt that begins life with a brain.
As a larva, it swims freely through the ocean, exploring and searching for the right spot to anchor. Once it finds that spot (a rock, a dock, or a coral surface ), eve...
My middle son took Organic Chemistry (Orgo) 1 and 2 last year at Villanova. He’s a civil engineering major, but he loves chemistry, and he’s worked in the chemistry lab on campus for the past two years.
He got a C in Orgo 1 and a D+ in Orgo 2.
When...
It was February 2020. A dear friend and I had just settled into our seats on a New York City subway to see a Broadway show. Across from us sat a man, alone in the center of a nearly empty row. He was hunched over, his gaze fixed on the grimy floor be...
I just watched the newest Karate Kid: Legends, and it instantly transported me back to my childhood.
I couldn’t help but remember when the original Karate Kid came out. Daniel LaRusso moved to Reseda, California, from Newark, New Jersey, while I onl...
“How the patterns we create shape the way we grow”
When I was in college, summer breaks often meant working alongside my father, a landscaper. My brothers, sister, and mom placed bets on how long I’d last - manual labor, scorching heat, long pants, ...
When I taught 11th-grade U.S. history, one of the classes was deep in a primary‑source analysis about the Harlem Renaissance.
Halfway through, I could feel the room tilting. Two groups were quietly shutting down, one was off‑task, and tension was ri...
When the Common Core literacy standards were first introduced, my immediate reaction was: No way.
I became a social studies teacher for a reason. I didn’t want to teach grammar. I didn’t want to focus on writing mechanics. That was for the ELA teach...
As the testing season approaches, I partnered with the amazing @Jenny_Orr on a mini-project to help students recognize when they need a brain break.
- Jen is an experienced elementary teacher and author of Demystifying Discussion and co-author of We...
 As educators, we understand the profound impact a sense of community can have on student engagement, learning outcomes, and overall well-being. A classroom environment prioritizes community-building and fosters collaboration, empathy, and a supporti...
Dr. Barbara Fredrickson eloquently defines awe as an encounter where one is "overwhelmed by greatness." In the picturesque landscapes of Normandy, France, I discovered firsthand the transformative power of awe.
In 2007, I embarked on a memorable jou...
Lately, I’ve been thinking about impactful social emotional learning skills considered essential in human growth and development for a productive, healthy life - terms like respect, accountability, and empowerment. These terms are not listed in CASEL...
