Life at my desk is A.P.-musing

"I am tired"   One of the most common phrase I hear during the day (second only to "I didn't do it!"). I hear it whether I am talking to students or adults. And tonight, while I'm hoping to sleep soon, I'm curious as to what is keeping us up at night. There are common answers: I can't shut off my brain, cell phones, tvs, worry, etc. All of us can't necessarily pin point why we are so tired. But I do know one thing: if we're not sleeping, we sure ain't learnin' nuthin. In every undergraduate education program across the nation, you learn about many different education theories. One in particular is the idea that when a student learns a new concept, their brain changes to make room for that information, giving them a solid "schematic" for future learning. In a nutshell: It makes your brain a file cabinet and all like experiences stay together and grow together.  But, what happens to our brain when we don't sleep? We...

It's now the final countdown to the first big break of the school year! I can't believe how quickly time has flown and how much my poor little brain has retained learning this new job! All the new vocabulary, procedures, policies, etc. It's literally MIND BLOWING!  But the most interesting thing as I look back on the last couple months: how busy a school day is outside the classroom! I had no idea how much stuff goes on in a school outside the 4 walls of students that I taught for all those years. From the deliveries to the parents, the phone calls to the kids in and out of the nurses office, the day is constant movement. One day, I literally was problem solving from the time I stepped foot into the building until the time I walked out the door. Even the smallest problems are important to a 2nd grader, I mean you can not make it through the day without your green marker. And, how in the world do you continue to learn when your tooth is loose and the tooth fairy doesn'...