Erica, Colleen, and I are halfway through a two-day workshop for Uncommon teachers from Boston, Rochester and Troy–two days talking about the best job in the world with great people and hopefully help get them better at it. Hard to beat. The other ‘best thing’ about the work we do is getting to be part of…
We’re buried deep today where I live. All of us under a foot or so of snow , and me even deeper under the weight of Teach Like a Champion revisions that are going to drive me to drink… or at least to long binges of the Pogues. I have therefore pleaded with some of my…
GREAT piece in the April 8 New Yorker by pianist Jeremy Denk… a retrospective on the role of practice in his development. Deeply reflective and insightful. Definitely worth the read though this video gives you a really good sense for a couple of the key sections, especially his first serious teacher’s use of feedback in his practice…
My colleague Joaquin Hernandez has been reading back through some studies on John Wooden’s coaching. Here are four interesting points from Joaquin’s notes. The last one is my favorite: When Correcting, Sandwich the Model (M+, M-, M+): When you spot an error, stop the player and model how to perform the move correctly (M+), show them how…
Julie Kennedy is about as humble and down-to-earth as they come. If you met her, you might not guess that she’s a Managing Director at Uncommon Schools and that next year she’ll supervise and manage a dozen of New York City’s highest performing schools. She’d certainly never go out of her way to tell you she’s a…