"...to step to."

As if I haven't had anything to say in a year, we are upon the verge of the CST's again.
There were so many lessons this year in:
current events- a volcanic world climate altering eruption, earthquakes in China, Haiti, and Sumatra, health care reform, tea party, the global chess moves of p_____ priests in the Catholic church, the West Virginia Mine Explosion, California's dreadful budget situation....and you don't stop.

But still the world turns and my class of 2019 kids are working hard. Or should I say responding to hard work behind motivation. Last year I ran down the laundry list of what it took to make academic gains; lesson plan elements and the like.

But this year, I'm all about the cycle of formative assessment and targeted instruction. Something's bound to happen either way. It's a full court press. Minute to minute through every school day; closely monitoring each possession...
have I talked 10 minutes?

You talk for two.
What's the understanding percentage in the room?

"Okay, put your white boards down...
who looked around before writing anything?"

Fishbowl this.

"Listen to this story about a whale trapped in crab traps some 18 miles outside the Golden Gate Bridge..."
Do animals have feelings? What do you think?

First ever portfolios for student work on a weekly unit of 30 minute lessons.
Building confidence.
Is that... academic SWAGGER I see?!

"No one will want to sit next to you if you say those things and keep insulting people...it's true."

"Alright everyone, now let's have some ICE CREAM AND PIZZA FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK!"

Little by little we're making it happen.
This year it's not quite a laundry list, but more like a snapshot of something organic and big.

I heard Michael J. Fox on NPR this morning share,
"Time exists so that everything doesn't happen all at once."


Ahhh, HA!
It takes time to fly, doesn't it?
-bd