The Educator's Lifeline

Were you able to visit the beach this summer? I didn't, but I certainly wish I did. There's just something about the sea air that provides peace and calm like almost no other place. I think almost everyone likes visiting the ocean, or at least dreaming about it. 🌞🍹 When was the last time you were able to build a sand castle and ride the waves? If you're like me and feel that same sense of relaxation at the water's edge, guess what? Now you only need ten minutes to go there anytime you want. OK, not really. But in the spirit of self-care, I put together a ten-minute guided meditation experience designed to transport you to the coast--if only in your mind. It's 100% free, and you can use it again and again to help you relax anytime and anywhere. Click on the video link above to give it a try! If you try the meditation and like it, I would love to know what you think. Leave a comment below, and tell your friends!

 As an elementary student back in the 1970s, math confused me. And the problem only got worse in high school. I was taught a series of algorithms, like "carry the one" and "divide, multiply, subtract and bring down" without really understanding why the algorithms worked. It wasn't until I took my first class in how to teach math that the light bulb 💡 finally came on for me. I learned the concepts behind the algorithms, and what the numbers actually represent. "Carrying the one" actually means taking a ten from the tens column and breaking it up into ten ones. "Punching up" to compare two fractions is actually shorthand for finding a common denominator by multiplying the two denominators together, as I explain in the video below. I know to many folks, the "common core" approach seems to waste time by laboriously walking students through the "long way" of doing things. But when introducing students to the foundational conc