I can still remember the wide eyed wonder I held when the circus came to town in my childhood. The old Memorial Stadium in St. John's was transformed into a ring of spectacle with clowns leaping about amusing the crowd, decorated horses running the circle and windjammers playing »
In this spin, I hope to level set beauty in education. A recent conversation with a friend who just returned from a study tour in Reggio Emilia, Italy has left me again thinking about how important beauty is in education. Listening to her recount her experience left me inspired and »
When I was younger, my imagination went wild in the late hours of the night. My loving parents, younger sister and brother were the recipients of my many midnight knocks as I looked for comfort post my imagination's overtime run. Looking back I can trace the roots of »
This spin is going to be on the edge and is intended to provoke conversations about what matters most in today's classroom. As a disclaimer, I will admit that I have become frustrated and somewhat disheartened by the drama of "the reading wars." As a public »
Sometimes the waves of life overcome the sensibilities of patience, kindness, temperance, optimism and compassion. In a new year quiet moment standing by the majesty of the Northeast Atlantic as she reigned her fierce power, sprayed with her salty mist and pulled my breath away with her powerful blasts, I »
Any way you spin it, change is tricky. No matter how ready you are for a change, the human brain will modulate reactions based on anticipatory sets. We humans get accustomed to our rhythms, routines, safe spots and we frequently prefer to stay within those boundaries. Thinking about our thinking »
Like others, I have been increasingly curious about the educational connection between generative AI and physical activity. With the freshness of the new year, healthy resolutions, and the experienced reality of 2024 super spread of Gen AI in my school district, I am excited about the educational possibilities ahead. While »
Sometimes you nail it, sometimes you don't. This sentiment runs through my mind often as I critique my presentations, activities, or ideas, that I think will be winners and realize as they're rolling out that they are not. Take last week for example when a festive »
I grew up in the east end of St. John's on a side street that packs a good climb on those classic cold Newfoundland winter nights when the Northeast Atlantic blows a gale like no other. I remember many blustery nights feeling the long walk home as I »
My daughters love games. The space and the time, the players and the place do not seem to matter, any time is a good time to break out a game. From soft tech games like Uno or Monopoly, to high tech digital games, my children are 100% in to compete »
It was 1998 and I had just landed my first permanent teaching position four days before the start of the new school year. It was a full-time job teaching Kindergarten in a beautiful inner city school built in 1844. The school was led by Principal Judy Gard Puddester and I »
