Practice Any Art…
Quoted from Ravenous Butterflies, a blog: In 2006 a high school English teacher asked students to write a famous author and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut was the only one to respond – and his…
Author Archives: joncay
Is Your Middle Schooler Over-Scheduled?
Teachers are seeing a decline in common sense, life skills, and general positive attitudes. Creativity is slipping. Social connections are awkward. Kids have inconsistent sleep patterns. A focus on academics and “the future” seems oppositional…
Why Wait In School Traffic?
It’s that time of year again. School has started, and the drivers have set aside logical ideas. Every school zone is a little different. In twenty years, I’ve worked at many different schools, and I…
Life in Middle School: Tips for Success
I just realized that I’ve entered my twenty-first year as a teacher. I should have known by the wrinkles around my new reading glasses (I finally had to get them), but I had not stopped…
Article from The Atlantic about a Love for Learning
Please take a moment to read this article from Jessica Lahey writing in The Atlantic. It speaks to a major problem in our school community considering the pressure that students put on themselves to earn…
Distance Learning: Common Sense at Home
August 17, 2020 I’m sitting on a bench outside my classroom. The temperature is ninety-one degrees today, and wearing a mask the whole time seems to make it feel like 910 degrees. Today is “materials…
Young People Need Play Time
As seems to be a theme in many of my posts, I want to pass along the importance of play. I don’t mean video games (absolutely the opposite). I mean creative, unstructured, social (or individual) play…
“Bored” Is A Choice
Due to the nature of social media, we sometimes see news stories float around for a couple years. Certain articles are shared over and over again, and unfortunately, we have to check their validity all…