This past year, in a small Midwest community, we lost a student to a drug overdose. We have lost many more to drug addiction, and although we haven’t attended their funerals, they are no longer the students we once knew, while some are unrecognizable.

Student absences are not a new issue in education, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only added to this growing problem.

A growth mindset is the belief that abilities grow through effort and persistence. This mindset shapes how we view data.

During my time as a program coordinator, I learned a lesson that has stuck with me ever since: school values don’t collapse in one dramatic moment, but rather erode one decision at a time.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that rules without relationships lead to rebellion. Yet today, relationships with students seem to be feared instead of embraced. Over the years, quite by accident, I have discovered that this precept from days gone by is critical to classroom rules and to learning itself. Relationships are an essential part of learning, especially relationships between teachers and students.

As teachers, we’ve been given the role to navigate what technology now looks like in our classrooms. At my school we have developed a model to support technology use.

I was recently involved with an art exhibition in the Thanet District of Kent, England, that helped students see themselves as artists, advocates, and changemakers.

As I stood in my empty classroom surrounded by piles of boxes, I couldn’t help but wonder: what was I going to do now?

After 17 years of mostly reflection-free teaching, I’ve finally found the perfect space to force myself to stop, step back, and think about what I’m teaching. That place is Substack.