Education Blog
2010: In Recovery from 2009
When I was a little boy, we had a cat named “Kitty.” My brother and I claimed to really love Kitty. At one point my parents suggested we give Kitty away. We protested vociferously. So they kept Kitty for a bit longer. Then, taking a risk, they did give Kitty away.
It took over a month until my brother asked, “Um… where’s Kitty?” My parents had gotten away with it. I guess our love didn’t run that deep.
So lately I’ve had a couple of folks ask, “Um… when are you going to post to your blog?” Well, perhaps I was waiting for someone to notice! It’s good to be missed and even better to be back.
Like you, I’m just glad to have a new year stretching before me. The sheer chaos (and excitement) of the past few months have been tremendous. I haven’t posted here since the end of October.
Read More >>40% of American Teachers are Disheartened
By now many of you may have scene the report that came out this week from Public Agenda and Ed Week titled Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today.
It’s an absolutely gripping report and one that every teacher, principal, and policy maker should read. If we were smart, it would serve as the cornerstone to any policy debate we have about school reform. Sadly, that seems like wishful thinking.
In the report emerges a portrait of three clusters of educators: disheartened, contented, and idealists. The graphic below shows the primary traits of each group:
Looking through some of the general conclusions about these three groups, it’s striking how much the overall EXPERIENCE of being an educator is at the center of the report.
Read More >>A Conversation about All Things Teaching
A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of participating in a great event called "Policy and a Pint." Sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio and the Citizen's League, these events are open to the public, informal, and provide opportunities for lively conversations about current topics.
Amber Damm (Minnesota's Teacher of the Year) and I engaged in an interesting conversation as we fielded questions ranging from teacher salaries to Teach for America.
It was a great evening and I encourage you to find a bite of time to listen to this and feel free to chime in via the comments if you have further questions or feedback.
Read More >>
5:30 a.m. Running Group: A Metaphor
Okay. Maybe I’ve been wrong.
My friend Adam and I have run together off and on for a few months each Monday morning. I’ve skipped out on most. Our wives run together every other day at 5:30 a.m. and have done so for years. They never miss a run. Adam runs with a group of guys on the other days. And each week for the past year, he’s invited me to go and each time I say no.
Until this morning.
Generally, I fall on some common themes for why I won’t go running with Adam’s group:
1. I like to run alone.
2. 5:30 is too early for anyone to do anything.
3. I don’t like talking when I run.
4. I run better and enjoy it more when I have solitude.
But here’s the reality:
1. “I like to run alone” had turned into “I like to push snooze and skip runs.”
2. Anytime is too early to work out and I just came off the most out of shape summer I can remember.
3. Being with others is about the only thing that will actually get me to change course.
4.
Drawing a line.
This upcoming Thursday, I’m giving a keynote address and the Minnesota teachers’ union annual conference. The title of my talk is So! How are the adults?
It’s an honor to be asked to speak and I’m looking forward to it. But when they hand you a mic and give you an audience, you’re given also the challenge of saying something worthy of the invite itself. For the most part, my public speaking events are marked by polite suggestions. For some reason, I feel like be a little rowdy. Or boisterous. Sometimes you want to rattle cages.
Here are the themes I think I’ll explore:
1. Opportunities we lose or use everyday to take care of ourselves as individuals or each other as colleagues.
2. Absolutes we should carry in our behavior toward others. There is a right and a wrong to how we work with others.
3.
Recent Entries
As a former teacher, I’ve seen first-hand the issues that educators face every day. I hope that by writing this blog, I can share some insights (as well as a sense of humor) on teacher job satisfaction and school climate, and spark conversation about how to improve our schools.
—Nathan Eklund, M.Ed
Senior Education Consultant
Comments
Post Comment | Comments (4)