Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition What We Don’t Say About Urban Classrooms Series Behavior #3: The One Who Lives on the Line This series lives inside the work I call the REAL Authority Vault.Not authority as control, volume, or intimidation, but authority rooted in clarity, consistency, and follow-through. Everything we’re about to unpack over the next few weeks—behaviors, patterns, hesitation, and expectations—connects back to how authority is built or quietly...
7 days ago • 3 min read
The REAL Reset: Math Moves That Matter – Tuesday Edition Questions That Build Thinking Series Part 1: Why Planning the Question Changes the Lesson The REAL Story In my first three years of teaching, I used to get genuinely frustrated during math discussions because I would ask a question expecting one type of response and get something completely different. At the time, I assumed it meant students did not understand the content. I thought the gap was on their end. It wasn’t. The gap was in my...
9 days ago • 3 min read
Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition What We Don’t Say About Urban Classrooms Series Behavior #2: If You Keep Teaching While They Talk, You Trained It This series lives inside the work I call the REAL Authority Vault.Not authority as control, volume, or intimidation, but authority rooted in clarity, consistency, and follow-through. Everything we’re about to unpack over the next few weeks—behaviors, patterns, hesitation, and expectations—connects back to how...
14 days ago • 4 min read
The REAL Reset: Math Moves That Matter – Tuesday Edition Productive Struggle System Series: When struggle isn’t a setback, it’s the strategy. Part 6: Why this can’t be optional anymore The REAL Story Public school teachers are doing everything from feeding students to facilitating mental health support. Teachers are social workers, mental health supports,food providers, trauma-informed responders. We referee conflict and manage behaviors. And somewhere in the middle of all of that… we’re...
16 days ago • 4 min read
Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition What We Don’t Say About Urban Classrooms Series Behavior #1: Independent Work, Blank Paper, and the Decision to Wait This series lives inside the work I call the REAL Authority Vault.Not authority as control, volume, or intimidation, but authority rooted in clarity, consistency, and follow-through. Everything we’re about to unpack over the next few weeks—behaviors, patterns, hesitation, and expectations—connects back to how...
21 days ago • 3 min read
The REAL Reset: Math Moves That Matter – Tuesday Edition Productive Struggle System Series: When struggle isn’t a setback, it’s the strategy. Part 5: What happens after the struggle is over The REAL Story After Productive Struggle Wednesdays, nothing “big” happens that same day. There’s no dramatic reteach. No rushing to clean things up. No panic because every question didn’t get answered. What does happen is a debrief, every single class, without exception. We talk about what worked with the...
23 days ago • 3 min read
Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition What We Don’t Say About Urban Classrooms Series Before We Talk About Behavior This series lives inside the work I call the REAL Authority Vault.Not authority as control, volume, or intimidation, but authority rooted in clarity, consistency, and follow-through. Everything we’re about to unpack over the next few weeks—behaviors, patterns, hesitation, and expectations—connects back to how authority is built or quietly lost in the...
28 days ago • 4 min read
The REAL Reset: Math Moves That Matter – Tuesday Edition Productive Struggle System Series: When struggle isn’t a setback, it’s the strategy. Part 4: What the Teacher Does During the Struggle The REAL Story During productive struggle, I’m not wandering the room aimlessly or trying to look busy while students work. My movement is planned. On Productive Struggle Wednesdays, my job gets harder, not easier. Once students start working, I’m already sorting what I see in real time. Who can enter...
30 days ago • 3 min read
Rooted in REAL: Culturally Responsive Practice – Thursday Edition How to Effectively Manage Your Classroom: 7 Mindsets I Shifted From That Were Holding My Classroom Hostage Mindset Shift #7: I Was Correcting Behavior, Not Changing the Pattern *There’s now a private LinkedIn group to support reflection alongside this work. Click the link to join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/16349025/ The REAL Story One of the hardest things to do as a teacher is not be emotional. I don’t know if it’s...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read