Book Review Some books stay with us because they are beautifully written. Others remain because of the force of the life behind them. Educated by Tara Westover does both. It is a memoir that is gripping, disturbing, moving, and intellectually rich all at once. I have now read it twice, and the second reading only … More Educated by Tara Westover
There is always a tension in education between what students love and what teachers value. Too often, we treat these as opposites. If something is popular, current, visual, musical, fast-moving, or deeply embedded in youth culture, it is often seen as less serious. Yet the world our students live in is shaped by exactly these … More K-pop in English Class: Turning Student Interest into Rigorous Learning
1. Defining the Brain Break: Beyond Simple Downtime In the landscape of modern pedagogy, the “brain break” must be redefined from a mere lapse in instruction to a proactive neurological intervention. These intentional, short-duration activities are strategically designed to shift neural activity across disparate networks, thereby preserving the brain’s cognitive reserves. By facilitating a state … More The Neural Reset: Transforming Classroom Engagement Through Brain Breaks
Book Review As I turned the pages of A Pedagogy of Play ¹, I found myself pausing more often than usual—not because the ideas were difficult to grasp, but because they felt deeply familiar. It is one of those rare books that affirms what you already believe as an educator, while at the same time … More A Pedagogy of Play
A Reflection from Harvard GSE – Leading the Change (CSML) As part of my studies in the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, I recently completed Module 3 of Leading the Change, which focuses on one of the most powerful—and often overlooked—forces in schools: culture. Like … More Leading School Culture: Why Change Begins with the Invisible
Reflections from the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML), Harvard Graduate School of Education Introduction One of the most powerful insights from the Leading the Learning course at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is that school improvement does not happen through leadership alone. While strong systems, clear structures, and aligned goals are … More Developing Teachers and Teacher Leaders: Lessons from Harvard’s Leading the Learning (Module 3)
Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a tool for generating answers, but one of its most powerful uses in education may be something very different: extending the classroom beyond school hours. When used thoughtfully, AI can act as a discussion partner, tutor, and thinking coach, allowing students to practice complex academic skills at their own … More How AI Can Extend Socratic Seminars Beyond the Classroom
In classrooms around the world, students bring with them a rich tapestry of languages, cultures, and experiences. For many years, schools often expected students to separate these languages—using only the official language of instruction in academic settings. However, growing research in language education challenges this idea and instead highlights the power of translanguaging as a … More Translanguaging in the Classroom: Turning Multilingualism into a Learning Resource
Insights from Harvard’s CSML – Module 2: Creating the Conditions for Adaptive Work School leadership is rarely about having the right answers. More often, it is about creating the conditions where a community can learn its way toward better solutions. As part of my Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) at the Harvard Graduate … More Leading Adaptive Change in Schools
Lessons from Harvard’s Leading Learning (HGSE – CSML) One of the most powerful insights from Module 2 of Leading Learning in the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) program is that excellent schools integrate academic rigor with a culture of care. They intentionally build systems that support both instructional … More Building a Strong Instructional and Caring Culture in Schools