My body and brain are weary and need recovery before doing it all over again, one more time. The last two months of my school year, like many teachers, is an intense build before an abrupt end. For most, it's about final exams. For me, it's about mounting one more major production: dance concert. From… Continue reading My Tired Teacher Soul
Tag: education
Annie: Our Thespian Rennaisance
In 2020, we lost our spring show to COVID. That pandemic almost cost us our theater program. Six years later, hope springs eternal. ANNIE brought Thespian Troupe 721 the magic of victory. I sat in the back of the theater, two hours before showtime on the second night of our run. There’s a light buzz… Continue reading Annie: Our Thespian Rennaisance
The Sound of Shhhhp
There’s a new sound in my teaching universe that has become my new happy sound at work. It’s not a song. It’s literally just a sound.
First week, new studio
Sometimes, you need a little jump start in your career. This year, I received a huge one. Read on to see why after 30 years, I'm still excited to go back to work.
New Beginnings: a Dance Studio Transformed
Sometimes, life throws you something unexpected. While it may be uncomfortable at first, the unexpected can turn into something beautiful. This is a story of another evolution in my career as a dance teacher.
Empowering English Language Learners through Performing Arts: An Educator’s Experience
High school musical season presents both challenges and victories for all involved. For the second year in a row, English language learners performed a musical show for an audience in a foreign language. And they did it syllable by syllable. This success story transcends the show itself. When you direct high school play productions, it… Continue reading Empowering English Language Learners through Performing Arts: An Educator’s Experience
Why Educators Matter in Challenging Times
In my thorough disappointment in this political cycle, one of my greatest concerns is how my students will be impacted. This discusses how I do my part to educate kids in a diverse public school despite the impending political storm. For the past 29 or so years, I have been an arts educator in a… Continue reading Why Educators Matter in Challenging Times
A Teaching Toolkit for Student Success
In the weeks before starting school, I had a lot of anticipatory anxiety. Three weeks in, things have gotten off to a smooth start. What helps is having a well-developed teaching toolkit. This article shares my simple and consistent protocols that create a long-lasting flow for the entire school year. After all of the end-of-summer… Continue reading A Teaching Toolkit for Student Success
Navigating Anticipatory Anxiety: Tips for Educators to Protect Their Peace
This is my summer wrap up post as I look forward to another school year. The priority moving forward: protect my peace. Read on to learn some of my strategies to do just that. In this last week of August, I'm staring down the start of the school year. It's my 29th year of teaching… Continue reading Navigating Anticipatory Anxiety: Tips for Educators to Protect Their Peace
Translanguaging in Arts Education
I am an arts educator. My charge is not only inspiring the creative spark in adolescents, but making sure our English Language Learners have equal access and opportunity to participating in the creative spirit. When you are in charge of a school theater organization, you shoulder the weight of so many things, artistic decisions being… Continue reading Translanguaging in Arts Education
You have to go through it.
This phrase is something I found myself saying since the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. It was one of those wise things I’d say to the kids when things looked tough, like during the last two weeks of our fall show PUFFS when the Monday tech rehearsal was over three-and-a-half hours long and it… Continue reading You have to go through it.
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