I am blessed to have a profession that I love. I get to spend months in Zurich (Switzerland), Maycomb (Alabama), floating down the Mississippi, working the fields in Salinas (California), practicing survival skills on a remote island during World War II, stirring cauldrons with witches on a heath in Scotland, watching fairies dance in the woods, defending the existence of books in the future, chasing a raven from a chamber door, navigating the horrors of Nazi camps, and journeying through the final months of a beloved professor's life. All that considered, it gets better. I get to be tour guide, taking along for the ride students whose curiosity and enthusiasm are the glitter on an already bright adventure.
HOW TO SURVIVE AN INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN (IEP) MEETING
SAVOR THE STRUGGLE
I love to see kids struggle. Let me rephrase that: I love to see a child persevere through a challenging task and enjoy a sense of accomplishment when he says, “I did it myself!” It has taken me thirteen years of teaching and sixteen years of parenting to learn the value of independent task completion and how to put aside my ego to let students fail and succeed.
GO BACK TO THE BASICS
Math is a subject that kids dread the most. If they don’t “get it”, they shut down and stop trying to learn new concepts. Once children lose confidence in their math abilities, it is really challenging to pull them back in. One of the most important steps to get your child back on track with math is to make sure they have a solid foundation with basic skills.