By my calculation, a student in my World Geography class spends approximately 133 hours in my classroom completing the course. That’s 177 school days (instructional days required by Louisiana) and having a student in my class every other day for an hour and half. For middle to high school students, those 133…

I’ll let you in on a secret. I was a philosophy minor in college. Of course, my education major took top billing. But, every so often, my bank of otherwise impractical philosophy knowledge comes in handy. Given the opportunity, I’ve been known to dust off a couple of little gems that have…

We recently attended the New York State Council for Exceptional Children’s Annual Conference in Tarrytown, New York. As a mom of three children with learning differences, I walked away feeling inspired, grateful, and with a broadened personal and professional toolkit.  Many of the educators and vendors who were at the conference have…

Among a family of educators, some of whom taught and others who have dedicated a good portion of their lives to supporting educators, I’ve always been a bit of an outlier. At the midpoint in my life, I find myself in a career renaissance, jumping on the family bandwagon to help in…

We have a new puppy and I am marveling in all her new experiences. All the firsts. Her first bath. Her first rainstorm. Her first combat with a fly. Her first bone. Her first car ride. Then, the first time she got car sick. All of this has brought me back to…

We’ve come a long way in the last forty years, where stoicism reigned supreme. Self-care wasn’t even a thing, and managing your problems meant drinking an extra scotch after dinner. Today, we wear our mental health challenges with pride. We engage in yoga, meditation, and regular exercise. Many have a therapist on…

The year was 1974 and Rui had come to America from Portugal a year and a half prior. He had said goodbye to his extended family, who lived in a small farming village on the Silver Coast, and traveled with his sister and parents to America. Because they wanted to make a…

It is the end of the first month of school, and you have pretty much honed in on the apparent academic strengths and development opportunities for each of your students. Of course, you know that with all of the amazing programs planned for the school year, along with the developing mind, this…

Summer vacation is synonymous with R&R, days spent lounging by the water with an umbrella drink, dining al fresco, or catching up on all the reading that your tired eyes couldn’t manage during the school year. Some may even be fortunate enough to pack their bags and go on an adventure, whether…