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Mar 25

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Slice of Life 25: Teaching Humans

By Janice Ewing

Yesterday, I wrote about attending an informational session concerning the Being a Writer Program. The morning started with a collegial breakfast, and ended with my misplacing the validated parking ticket (of course I found it as soon as I got home, hiding in my messy purse), and receiving a get-out-of-the-parking-lot-free pass from the attendant because I was clearly coming from the same event as my colleagues. In between, there was a lot of food for thought.  In the previous post, I mentioned the assessment aspect of the program, which impressed me because much of it focused less on grades than on observation of writerly habits and participation in a writing community. Upon further reflection, something larger is standing out to me.  Read more

Mar 25

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Guest Post: Finding and Honoring Our Many Stories (Part 1)

By Brittany Carlino

First day of school with VPG in backgroundI spent last year teaching in Budapest, Hungary through the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange program. This means I traded places with a Hungarian teacher; she came to teach at my U.S. school, Great Valley High School, and I taught in her place at Veres Pálné Gimnázium.  As you might imagine, there were myriad ups and downs in that experience, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It made me into a better student, teacher, and person.  Most important, it sharpened the need to look for the many stories – personal, cultural, societal – that can be honored and celebrated, and how imperative it is that we teach our students to do so.  Read more