See if this list matches your worry list about kids and people in general: They don’t…. Spend time being “present” Talk to each other...

As the year comes to a close and a new year begins, I think of all the people I am blessed to have in my life. My family, my husband, the...

When winter folds upon us, I often approach the season with trepidation and a plan to hunker down until the warm weather thaws both the...

It was a grand experiment of a high school in Madison, Connecticut, that made me who I am. It was three buildings connected by pebbled...

You know the feeling when you finish a novel that kind of let's you down in the end? Or when you watch a movie that kind of trails off in...

In part two of my post Two Magic Words: What Else?, I’ll share some ways I ask students the “what else?” question in order to cultivate...

Flashback to the year 2000: As a starting teacher, the principal met with me almost every week. . . for a full hour. Her questions always...

My favorite holiday gift? A pile of books and and no interruptions. Yet, to most of the amazing teens I work with this sounds, well,...

Per·cep·tion pərˈsepSH(ə)n noun the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the sensesa way of regarding,...

Refreshed. Energized. Ready to conquer anything. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being a teacher at the beginning of the...

The heart of teaching literacy is this: to support learners as they become passionate, engaged, skillful readers and writers. That is it....

Whenever we have the privilege of walking into a classroom we have a choice about where we put our attention. If we zoom in on the...

“Your mind will create thoughts with or without permission. It can be your master or your servant. Awareness offers you the opportunity...

A·ware·ness əˈwernəs/ Noun knowledge or perception of a situation The start of each school year is like a first crush: highly...

How can I get my kids to read more? Do you have your kids do the math packet? Should I buy one of those summer workbooks? My friends...

It’s June. At least here in the Northeast, it has been a more mild spring and we haven’t had too many days of sweltering heat in our...

I’m Jack McGee and my mom, Patty McGee, wrote a book. I asked if I could be first to tell you all about it, and proudly, I write this...

In my previous posts we discussed the importance of being curious as well as ways we can breathe in individual and creative ways to...

Here’s what it used to sound like when I used mentor texts in my writing workshop early on in my teaching: Me: Take a look at this piece...

Questions often wake us up and provide us all with a chance to unearth some of our own thoughts, beliefs, and wisdoms. Recently, I had...