THIS BLOG POST WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Really. This relevation is earth-shattering, so be prepared. Take a breath. Get ready to have your perspective shifted forever.
It all starts with a little something I like to call “megossip.” What is this term, you may ask? As defined by the Bainbridge-Ward Dictionary*, “megossip” is “(n.) information gathered by Meg about people she knows and her attempt to analyze it in order to help people she cares about.” In other words, my habit of meddling in other people’s business–but with good intentions for all parties.
As I have become more adept at dabbling in other people’s business, I have come to an earth-shattering realization. Every piece of advice I have offered — about friendships, saving moeny, dating, and more – can be traced back to effective classroom management techniques. And every piece of advice I’ve offered should undoubtedly be applied to my own life. I know what you’re…
“Leave your baggage at the door.” The past few weeks have been grueling for me — professionally and personally. I have been stuck in limbo, frozen just like the computers that my kids have tested on. As EOIs approached, I entered “triage mode,” prioritizing what was most important for my kids to succeed academically and…
read more »On Monday, we tested. I has expected this day to be full of emotion — victory and disappointment and uncertainty and hope. I had expected this day to be a moment of truth, for me and for my students. It was a victory lap, an unexpected success, a wake-up call, and a hopeful sign of…
read more »BIG NEWS. Our geometry test, scheduled for Friday 4/19, was pushed back to Monday 4/29. With this switch comes a major shift in review strategy & motivational gameplan — how do I keep my kids going for another week, when so many of them were ready to take the test on Friday? This past week…
read more »My pre-calc class saved me yesterday, without a doubt. My lesson wasn’t as air-tight as I had hoped it would be, but my students were awake & alive & ready to learn. They were interested (& hard-working, even?) – asking about the reasons behind the math, not just copying down formulas & getting to the work. We let…
read more »Sprinting. As teachers, that’s what we do 70% of our days. But at what cost? This weekend, I stumbled upon my reflection not in a mirror but in a New York Times article. What were these words of wisdom that sent my brain into overdrive? “He noticed that when I was anxious about something, I…
read more »Ever since I became a teacher, I’ve started answering a lot of questions. My students ask me questions about my math objectives, my friends ask me questions about my social life, and my family asks me questions about my well-being. But on Wednesday night, at a dinner with TFA donors, I was asked a question I wasn’t fully prepared…
read more »“I’m glad I came — intersession’s been a lot of fun.” Over this past week, my friends were exploring the streets of San Francisco and snowboarding along the Pennsylvania mountains. I, on the other hand, was still waking up before the sun rises and trudging with sleepy feet into John Marshall, spilling coffee onto my…
read more »MY KIDS ARE INCREDIBLE. – While teaching 30+ middle schoolers, I had five high school “TA’s.” They circulated around the room, answered questions, and then taught the end part of the lesson in smaller groups. Thanks to them, the kids were able to grasp onto the material and work at a pace that matched their…
read more »What does it mean to be a woman — a strong, successful, empowered woman? I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately — to assess my personal growth, and the growth of my students. Each day, I notice John Marshall female students acting in ways that promote themselves as empowered women…and in ways that degrade…
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