Quite a few things have happened in my life in just the last couple of days. Well, ok. Only one thing. But it’s composed of many little things. I got a new job. I am now a teacher at a high school about an hour away. Great, right? Yep. A dream of mine. I am overly ecstatic and I’m not being sarcastic. However, after I got the job, following are the things that have happened to me: [...]

This is in response to a question from Queue:

If everyone on the planet stopped existing but you, but the world, in it’s current state, was left exactly the same, what would you do?

Well, the logical part of my brain has to look at this multiple ways: [...]

Is change always good and necessary? Why or why not?

The answer to this question depends on the context of the change. If we’re speaking of education, which I’m assuming we are, it also depends on the change itself. Not all changes are good. Not all changes are bad.

For example [...]

Ever watched ants? They’re very interesting little insects. If you put a sugar cube a distance from their nest, one of them will go and find it. Then it’ll go back and tell the others, and then they’ll all swarm all over that sugar and take it back to the colony. It’s a very concerted effort, and it’s amazing to watch. However, they are ants. This kind of thing is [...]

I remember when the only thing I had to worry about was whether the other kids liked me or not and whether I had acne that day or not. Yes. They were odd years. Being a teenager is tough. But ignorance is also bliss. There are so many things I didn’t know then and sometimes wish I could unlearn. Of course, today is different for teenagers. With so many “anti-something” groups, there’s always some controversy about something.

Even today’s teenagers have to [...]

I like to reflect on philosophies. Don’t ask me why. Must be one of those silly “growing older” things. Well, it happened again today. But I’m going to use this post to tell you all about it and at the same time answer a meme.

So, here’s seven things you need to know about me before I start:

1. I’m Caucasian.
2. I was raised Baptist.
3. I’m male.
4. I was born in the United States.
5. I live in the United States.
6. I’m a Southerner.
7. I’m [...]

Some of my favorite quotes can be used to describe the “perfect” teacher.

“The mind is a terrible thing to close.” – Saphrym

Yeah. I said that one. It’s a play on the old slogan of the mind is a terrible thing to waste. But it means that we should always keep an open mind. And that goes double or even triple for teachers.

“If you capture kids’ hearts, you have their heads. If you don’t capture their hearts, you have no business messing with their heads.” – Menville Flippen

Teaching is not [...]

1. Quality administration and staff – It irritates me tremendously to see teachers and administrators that don’t want to be at school. Teaching is one of those jobs where if you don’t love it, you really need to stop. Lack of love for the job translates into the classroom. Students can sense a lack of enthusiasm from the teachers. The teachers that students love are always the teachers that love their jobs. That’s a fact. I also do not agree with passing over prospective teachers just because they don’t add enough points for NCLB. Teachers need to be chosen based on their qualities and not their quantities (of certificates). If a teacher wants to be a teacher, they can always learn more about teaching. Experience and PD will take care of that. But if the teacher [...]