Whew! It’s the end of an incredibly intense 6-week summer session of my preservice Reading & Writing in Secondary Schools course. And so, it’s time for my final reflection. I try to reflect at the end of each semester/ course, in line with what I ask my own students to do, to think about our […]
Tag: Teaching
You’ll Never Walk Alone
Dear graduating 2019 MA Cohort in the Linked Learning Curriculum & Instruction program (and friends), This morning as I woke up, I saw your many posts from commencement last night. I saw the joy of celebrating this momentous occasion with students, colleagues, friends and family. I saw the light of the culmination of a program […]
Respecting Teachers
I am a teacher educator. I currently prepare people who want to become teachers to get their teaching credentials, and work with teachers in classrooms to improve their practice. I do this at a large, regional, public, comprehensive university that serves a large percentage of students of color, many of whom are first generation college […]
Reflections on Humanizing Connections
The end of the semester always comes fast and furious, with myriad assignments to grade and curriculum to cover as 15 weeks culminates with “trying to get it all done.” And usually, I get sick in the midst of it. I used to have my body trained to not get sick until the end of […]
The Importance of Connection
This morning I woke up and did what I normally do. I unlocked my phone and checked my Facebook (yes, I know this is not the best morning routine, but it is my morning routine). I was still thinking about many historic firsts from the mid-term elections and wondering about close races across the country, […]
Mid-Semester Academic Mama Check-In
I am super tired. Yesterday, I had two phone call meetings, an in-person and taught two classes in addition to prepping and grading. Last night, after teaching back-to-back classes, I picked up my son from evening Tae Kwon Do practice, had a long talk with him on the car ride home about responsibility (after he […]
Growth & Collaboration: Walking the Talk
Pictures say a thousand words so I won’t say (as) much in this post, but I’ll explain these pictures and what they mean to me. On Wednesday night, my preservice candidates in my secondary literacy course got to present Project Based Learning assessments aligned with Career & Technical Education pathways and state content standards, disciplinary […]
Reflections on Humanity
I just got back from a 4-day vacation in New York City. It was amazing, but it was an intense 4-days of over 10-miles walking/running each day, seeing the sights, being around the people, eating the food. It was also emotional: reliving 9-11, thinking about the importance of immigrant contributions to this country, remembering my […]
Moving through Critique
Another semester, another set of evaluations. Evaluation time always stresses me out, to be frank. I’m still working towards tenure and although my evaluations are generally high, I know they’re vitally important to the tenure and promotion process so I worry. But it goes beyond simple self-interest. If it were just about not getting tenure, […]
“Hsieh Miserables” : The revolution, the redemption, the reflection — Final Reflection Fall 2016
It has been quite a semester, particularly in the last 6 weeks. Teaching during this electoral season was difficult, personally and pedagogically. In addition to what’s being going on in the world, there’s been a lot going on with my family and me. Through injuries and illness, strained relationships and ever-present concerns about the scarcity of time […]