It certainly has been a tough first half of the year. No matter the environment you’ve taught in this year–in-person, hybrid, remote, or a combination of it all–teaching has definitely been much more challenging. December brings a sort of unofficial finish to the first half of the school year. Even a pandemic can’t slow down the holiday vibes of excitement, hustle and bustle, and the long awaited break. Teachers have definitely earned that break. We always do, but this year it seems needed more than ever. Screen time, constant adjustments to environments, roster changes, curriculum challenges ..read more

One of my favorite things that came from the whole quarantine experience last spring was the explosion of Tik Tok. I found it entertaining to see people do these silly dances, create scenes with funny voice overs, and actually teach people how to cook. Last spring, I would even post my own videos and challenge people in my department to do some with their family. I’d also post links for my students on Google Classroom so they could get a laugh at my expense. I can’t tell you how many meals or DIY projects were inspired by this social media platform. The running joke in our house is, “where did ..read more

I made a promise to myself when this school year started. I told myself that I wouldn’t write for a few months. Although I felt like I had a lot to say, I wanted to focus on two things. First, as always, I wanted to focus on my actual teaching, no matter the environment that I found myself in. With Covid essentially running our lives, I knew that I, along with every other educator, would be teaching kids in different environments each day. Focusing on the craft is important all of the time, but this year, as we all know, is quite different. The craft of good teaching is more important than eve ..read more

I am not quite sure what day it was, as it has been a challenge to keep track of the days over the past three months. Plugging through the Zooms, the endless speculative conversations regarding what iteration of school we will have in the fall, the planning without clear guidelines, and, of course, dealing with my own emotions of anger, horror, and sadness at the emotional, fiscal, and political state of our beloved country has left me and countless others spent.   This week in New York, things started to feel different.  We have begun reopening our State; at the same time old ..read more

Like many others, I have had trouble trying to put into words what happened to George Floyd. He was, quite literally, killed because he was a black man. But, I don’t even think that does justice to what happened to him. He, like many other people of color before him, was begging for his life as his last breath was ripped out of him by a white man’s knee. I keep watching that video, almost seeing it my mind before I go to sleep at night. I keep watching the protests, both the peaceful ones and the ones that turned into riots. I keep reading every article, watching the news reports, getting lost ..read more

I have always known that someday my parents would die. I can still remember that fear that bordered on panic as a young child. I was often afraid that I would come home one day to find out I had lost one of my parents. It was always living somewhere inside of me, sometimes more pronounced than others. At one point in my life the fear was so paralysing that it prevented me from having fun from doing things that I truly enjoyed. It was a hot summer afternoon. I had the opportunity to go to the local fair with my Aunt Anita and her soon to be husband Denis. Anita was the fun Aunt, the one who dro ..read more

Now, more than ever, Moms are being asked to do so much more and be more in their children’s life. With schools around the country closed, the education industry has asked Mothers to put yet another thing on their “to do list.” It is an unfair ask, but yet Moms (and Dads, but hey, it’s Mother’s Day) are doing what they always do; they are simply being amazing, even if they feel like they are lost with this whole home learning thing. Indulge me for a minute; I’d like to talk about my Mom. I promise that it all relates. My mother, Maryann Armida, may not know all of which I am about to write. We ..read more

I had great aspirations when it was announced that schools would be closed and I would, more often than not, be working from home.  After the initial rush, I decided I would finally have time to write more, read all of those books that I have been dying to read, I would learn Spanish, and I would finally be able to expertly play a tune on my not so new Ukulele.  Being an optimist, I saw this challenge as an opportunity to finally slow down, work at a reasonable pace, and accomplish some goals that may have otherwise been out of reach.   Well, here we are over a month into t ..read more

Kris and Gary had a great time chatting with innovative educator and founder of the Voyagers Community School Karen Giuffre’. The Pod can be heard wherever you listen to your pods and is linked here. You can listen to Kris as he talks education, books, leadership and more with Kelly Croy the host of the Wired Educator. Kris guest spot on Kelly’s Pod is linked here. You can find Karen and Kelly’s Bio’s below. KAREN GIUFFRE’ Home –Discover Voyagers’ –Meet Our Team -Karen Giuffre’ Karen Giuffre’ M.Ed. Administrator: Founding Director Teacher/Researcher – High School Our director re ..read more

I unzipped my suitcase this morning and began to unpack from a conference I recently attended and was overcome with emotion.  Procrastination was my usual approach when it came to unpacking, but this was a bit much even for me. How long had it been since that overstuffed suitcase was sat down in our dining room?  So much had changed since my boss and I had returned from Albany. I began to reflect on a morning walk during the last day of my stay in Albany. I seem to have uncanny ability to find a way to get lost anywhere I go despite coming from a family of truck drivers. That day was ..read more