Connections in strange places

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” Herman Melville So this is a non-school related post, but it tells of a happy but trivial incident from this…

a couple more howlers

So my kids have just done their first unit tests for me, and whilst grading them, I have come across the following treasures: Q) What did Dr. King do to try and get the unfair laws changed? A) Dr. King try black people to become fair people. Q) Put the capitals in the right place:…

the joys of playtime

My kids love playtime. They will do anything to get playtime. Sit perfectly still, do all their work, whatever. But you know what, I think I love playtime more. It gives me a chance to talk to some of my kids one on one, and those are the interactions that I think are truly meaningful.…

Unexpected notes. Unexpected kindness.

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change." Bob Kerrey You have all heard the tales of anger, woe and anguish from my classroom. But today I have a tale of kindness. A tiny tale. But a tale that shows kids caring, a tale that shows kids being…

The fortnight slump

So, it has been a while, and I keep meaning to write. In fact, I have 2 blog posts saved as drafts. But I never get around to finishing them. Mostly because I'm lazy, and partly because I keep getting distracted. But coming back to the blog is useful. I've been feeling pretty bad about…