“You’re really writing a card for that?” “But, Miss. It was only a picture!” I’m lucky to receive gifts as a teacher. Of course, I have some favorite teacher gifts from over the years. But I treasure every time a student and their family thinks of me. Recently, it occurred to me that I’ve written … [Read more…]
After spending an actual lifetime in the classroom, you would think that I would know a thing or two about the best teacher gifts. But this is a hard post to write. Not because I can’t pick a favorite gift (I really can’t!), but because there is so much noise surrounding teacher gifts right now. … [Read more…]
This past week, I had the chance to do some volunteering. Specifically, my students and I packed food (vitamins, veggies, soy, rice) to be sent around the world to feed the chronically malnourished. We rolled up our sleeves and then got FDA compliant. That meant removing everything from Fitbits to earrings and then scrubbing up. … [Read more…]
My bookcase also broke this year. So did a lamp and a picture frame. Though we are still months from the end of the year, by my very rough estimates from a largely imperfect student-run checkout system, over fifty books are missing from my classroom library. Nevermind the ones that have come back with cracked … [Read more…]
The hill my generation has chosen to die on is a pyramid of latte cups with whipped cream and avocado toast on top. Millennials have made it clear time and time again that they will not tolerate anyone—not billionaires, not Boomers, not billionaire Boomers—telling them they can’t have their morning brew and drink it too. … [Read more…]
December is a lot of things for a lot of people. For me? Well, it’s mostly a race to finish A Christmas Carol before winter break begins. The Dickens classic is part of the curriculum so I’m up to my eyeballs in ghosts, chains, and mince pies. While the iconic antihero Ebenezer Scrooge is typically … [Read more…]
To The Families Who Gave Teachers Gifts, I spent the day before winter break writing your children thank you notes that I am fairly confident you will never see. In fact, they’ve probably already been relinquished to the deep recesses of binders next to permission slips, school calendars, and progress reports or banished to the … [Read more…]