var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-9318313-1"); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {} Teaching has been the toughest “adventure” I’ve embarked on thus far. No names, locations, etc. will be used due to privacy laws, but as I transition from the corporate world, I’ll share my teaching experiences. Interested in shedding some words of wisdom? Words of contempt? Email me at toughteacherk12@gmail.com.Tumblr (3.0; @toughteacher)http://www.toughteacher.com/<img src="http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kz1tawOsJF1qzf8cso1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>In other news…I rarely go “off topic” but the Jolie-Pitt family is growing up so fast! I gave up my daily dose of celebrity gossip a year ago and in the last year they have grown so much! Some days I kind of miss the trivial nuances of celebrity life.</p>http://www.toughteacher.com/post/438256611http://www.toughteacher.com/post/438256611Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:18:28 -0700<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kyzxv1uZTM1qzf8cso1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Fourth graders who obsess over presidents are truly children after my own heart. Today two of them were quizzing each other on the presidents and it was quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever witnessed.</p>http://www.toughteacher.com/post/436068558http://www.toughteacher.com/post/436068558Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:01:00 -0700“In education as in so much else, high standards are important - far too important to hand off...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/434981659http://www.toughteacher.com/post/434981659Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0700Race to the TopA colleague of mine compared his mentor teacher to an actress who liked to “bring the...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/434905416http://www.toughteacher.com/post/434905416Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0700So, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve written. I’ve been in a weird place and not...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/433253402http://www.toughteacher.com/post/433253402Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:50:59 -0700I witnessed one of the most awesome parent teacher conferences. Last fall, this little boy was in...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/395692739http://www.toughteacher.com/post/395692739Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:39:16 -0700The best card I got at our Valentine’s Day Party is from one of my new ELLs. She’s super...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/391014550http://www.toughteacher.com/post/391014550Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0700Sixth grade love is heart wrenching. At the class Valentine’s party there was an...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/390006774http://www.toughteacher.com/post/390006774Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:03:36 -0700““Instead of strengthening our neighborhood schools, that have for generations accepted...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/383742967http://www.toughteacher.com/post/383742967Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:55:55 -0700reformMy students were naughty…ok, pretty awful on Tuesday. On Wednesday they had to write apology...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/383739411http://www.toughteacher.com/post/383739411Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:52:37 -0700Situation: A substitute didn’t show for the kindergarten class so we split them up around the...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373459010http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373459010Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:04:06 -0700Kiddo: Miss, I saw you driving to school, and you drive real fast.http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373432715http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373432715Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:48:20 -0700When the topic of kids getting paid for going to school was broached, a third grader said: If there...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373402885http://www.toughteacher.com/post/373402885Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:30:42 -0700““What that says is, ‘Let’s focus on the student and not some arbitrary,...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/368976824http://www.toughteacher.com/post/368976824Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0700nclbWhere were you before 8:15 a.m.? Before 8:15 a.m. today I: Saw a kid throwing gang...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/368011440http://www.toughteacher.com/post/368011440Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:01:00 -0700Our sixth grade math teacher took a poll to see who the best dressed 6th grade teacher was. There...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/367148238http://www.toughteacher.com/post/367148238Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0700You know you’re going to have a good day when… a student asks you if knives are allowed...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/366028685http://www.toughteacher.com/post/366028685Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:34:03 -0700“In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education. In...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/357216280http://www.toughteacher.com/post/357216280Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:29:45 -0700“By 1990, the female-male breakdown was 55 percent to 45 percent. The gap widened to 57...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/356348030http://www.toughteacher.com/post/356348030Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0700Why would a state as large as Texas skip out on a windfall of national funding to help fuel...http://www.toughteacher.com/post/352801636http://www.toughteacher.com/post/352801636Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:00:00 -0700race to the top