Go 4th and Teach

Recently, I visited my cousin at her cheerleading gym (she co-founded it!). It struck me as I watched the team members interacting and the coaches giving direct and specific feedback and praise, that this structure is quite parallel to the way I like to run small groups.  In my opinion, (and of course, depending on the class ) small groups don't have to be constantly rotating with teacher-led guided reading or teacher-led skill group.  Sitting in one place, especially if you happen to have challenging behaviors or ability levels to meet in your room, just isn't always do-able for the stretches of time between transitions.  I would rather move.  I want the kids basically stationary ( 3 transitions tops ) and I want to travel. And traveling is more than just "floating" or monitoring. Some of my most valuable instruction and re-teaching happens in 2 minute increments as I travel between groups to give specific skill instruction and feedback.  This method...

The incredible Maya Angelou sat down with Oprah on Mother's Day to promote her recent book and to share the wisdom that naturally emanates from her.  Among the topics were her mother-- whom she describes as a terrible mother to young children but a wonderful mother to a young adult, her grandmother-- the woman she and her brother famously went to live with as young children in Stamps, Arkansas after Maya went mute at age 7, and also a bit about her uncle, residing with them in Stamps.   The uncle part was new to me. One of the things that draws me to watching something on Oprah's OWN network is that I agree with her philosophy of learning from all that we do: "Treat your life like a class...", she can often be heard reciting.  Because I so emphatically agree, I often watch Masterclass on OWN (new episodes air Sundays at 9) which sits down some type of celebrity that has made an impression on the viewer, the industry, or the world and allows the to speak freely a...