I've mentioned before that I use the television show NCIS for inspiration--especially my name and my classroom rules ( current list her...

Recently I had to institute the offsides rule in my classroom.  Granted, I don't fully comprehend the rule, and, as I am wont to do, I h...

I have an Incessant Leaner in my classroom.  He leans back in his chair, the chairs get bendy and squeaky AND he has fallen on his little po...

I was going to title this post "god-light".  You know, the light that sometimes shines through the clouds and, some say, looks all...

Just kidding.  No woe.  No despair.  I was pretending.  Sometimes, when the kidlets are being obnoxious, I strike this pose (usually standin...

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs is one of my professional role models.  It is for him that I have asked my students this year to call me...

M. is crying.  I am pretty sure it is my fault.  Before you get your knickers in a bunch, though, I will tell you that he is upset becaus...

I am tired today.  Foot-dragging, eyes-drooping, body-fighting-every-step-of-the-way tired.  This tired makes me feel like I'd prefer ea...

April 25, 2010 This video clip disturbs me. Shall I list the ways or shall I invite my fellow caped crusaders to tell me themselves? A...

I have my 6th and 7th grade girls convinced that if they whine, I will get a nervous twitch.  This is not technically a lie, since I do thin...

School starts back up on Monday.  How does a caped teacher go back to the grind after two lovely weeks off?  What's that quote about fak...

For Spirit Day yesterday, I used a project inspired by the book Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold . In this story a girl imagines she is flyi...

Earlier this year our little program was in the depths of student misbehavior. A couple of strong role models were pretty much running the...

As an attention-getting device the yodeling emergency button is barely passable. The yodel is quiet, and the students either giggle or ...

Warning--This conversation would be rated PG-13.  It would be, if folks rated this kind of thing. E. is a very bright, very oppositiona...

I've read, reviewed, and discussed a wide variety of books and curricula on community building, the teaching of pro-social skills in at-...

This week, we reviewed sentence fragments. In an attempt to energize a possibly dull topic (especially considering this has taken quite a bi...