Whenever hear the question, “Is teaching a science or an art?” Invariably the answer is both. That seems reasonable. But what if you ask a musician  “Is music a science or an art?” Most people would lean heavily toward it being an art. Seems to me the answer should still be both. But obviously since we classify music as a mostly subjective discipline...

Any working in a district or school talking about “data driven decision making?” I see that hand. Data has been a big word for a long time. I have a natural knee jerk reaction reaction to the word for two reasons. 1. In many cases, the data that is being used in schools is often superficial, low level test scores. Not always but in an effort to have lots...

It was a big one. 50. 50 years old. To celebrate I planned a week of golf with buddies. Sandwiched in between was a couple of speaking gigs. I left 5 days before the big day. The day before I left I received a package in the may from Phillip Cummings. In it was a pair of Memphis Grizzlies socks. What a lovely gift. I left town and didn’t think much more about...

When I first started using twitter 7 years ago, it was largely viewed as a frivolous space of drivel. For many it still is and I’d be the first to admit much of the time spent there is exactly that and I’m as much of a contributor to that as any. And yet….   For a long time I viewed twitter as a throw away tool, conversations and streams of...

The most challenging aspect of teaching for me is understanding my role and responsibility for student learning. Teaching undergrads, many who are in their 4th year and preparing to enter the teaching field is mostly very exciting. I generally am thrilled to be able to introduce my students to so many new ideas and people that I believe will empower them as they get...

During any talk or presentation I give I make sure that people can reach out to me to share a story, ask a question and even challenge me. I value the ways in which we don’t need to let a one time presentation but a one time presentation. Recently, someone shared a great story and I thought I’d pass it along here. It’s a story about gratitude, joy...

…and by you, I mean me. …and by blog, I mean reflect. I have written recently about why you can’t click publish. Certainly it’s a thing for many folks. But then there are a bunch of you who say, “I have nothing to write about”. I get it. I haven’t written anything for a month. For me, that’s not good. Mr. Mega Blogger...