Minnesota Teacher of the Year

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink, talks about the snap decisions human beings make and their accuracy. The book is a fascinating read that touches on a wide range of subject matter. One chapter of the book, interestingly enough, talks about an experiment on evaluating teachers done by Tufts psychologist Nalini Ambady.
In her series of [...]

Congratulations to the newly announced 28 semifinalists for the 2008 Minnesota Teacher of the Year honor!
Personally, it was a treat to be able to get a chance to learn about so many wonderful teachers in Minnesota during the first stage of the process. I’ve mentioned this in speeches, but seeing so many fine candidates for [...]

A few weeks ago I was invited to give a speech on Myths, Assumptions, and Attitudes in education. It wasn’t a viewpoint I was accustomed to examining. Initially I found myself struggling with the topic, but after a bit I realized that our educational climate is packed with stubborn misconceptions that are incorrect yet refuse [...]

Being the Minnesota Teacher of the Year has been both the most challenging and the most rewarding year I have spent in education. The three months since my last post in this blog have rocketed by, and it’s hard to think that in only three and a half more months there will be a new [...]

Time, which usually flies, is simply rocketing along this year. I can’t believe it’s been nearly six months since I was selected as the 2007 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Already the process to select the 2008 Minnesota Teacher of the Year has begun. The process begins with a six-week nominated period, during which time [...]

I had the honor of giving a speech at the District 287 school year kick-off in late August. I chose to speak about why teachers teach. Click on the image below to see a Quicktime video of the 12-minute speech.

I’d welcome other teachers and readers to share their comments as well. Why do you teach? [...]

I always compare Labor Day weekend to the that silent spot at the top of a rollercoaster, right before the coaster makes its first big drop. The stark contrast of pace in a teacher’s life is never so pronounced as it is on that September weekend before the first classes start.
For me, I always [...]