In this downloadable resource, educator Cortnee Phifer invites teachers to reflect on how collaboration can reignite joy and strengthen their practice. Through seven guiding questions, Phifer encourages readers to consider belonging, support, and...
The groundbreaking primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall died in October 2025 at age 92. Best known for her research on the social behavior of wild chimpanzees and her impassioned activism on behalf of our planet, she once said: “Every...
Dear new teachers (and those who were once new), I am writing this letter to you first of all to say . . . Congratulations! You have begun your journey in one of the most important professions around. But, as you are probably aware, it is also a...
Education is a very unique profession. As educators, we benefit from talking about the science and art of teaching. We crave meaningful opportunities to collaborate. Other voices outside of our own make our craft better. Collaborating with student...
Dear Teachers, I’ve been thinking about you. A lot. The demands of the school year are in full swing, and one of the busiest times of the year is fast approaching. There are so many directions in which you’re being pulled, and a work-life balance...
A thing I love most about teaching elementary kids is their everyday excitement. Just yesterday, as first graders built towers with blocks, some shouted, “Come look what I made!” as others whispered, “I did this.” Bold dreams were being built. As an...
Imaginative, engaging, captivating, exciting. These are all words to describe how I felt about writing growing up. As an elementary student, writing was my favorite school subject—a place to escape and be creative. Developing characters, writing...
It’s that time of the year again. I’m well into the school year, we have established our classroom routines, and we are beginning to form our community for the year. I can imagine the journey we will take over the course of a year spent learning...
Finding Our Way Back Kari Johnston Teaching is the work of a community. The moments that sustain us are the ones when we come together, side by side, when we laugh over something funny a kid said at the copier, when we sit and cry after a hard day...
“When are we going to read our books?” Sofía (pseudonym) says to me as we get ready to read another passage followed by multiple-choice questions. We’re getting ready for our state test, and these disconnected texts and questions have become a...