A few weeks ago we had our graduation ceremony. There was social distancing, and no handshaking, and masks but we were together and in person. It was the first time we had been altogether as a senior class, on the last day. The tears, the joy, the pure appreciation of being together as a community…
Author: Janet Ilko
Embracing the Red Zone
I hate cardio. Let me begin with that statement. I love being outside. I love walking, in fact, I have done many long-distance walks over the years for various causes. I love getting stronger and lifting weights. What I don’t love, is cardio. I don’t get that runner’s high. I don’t feel a competitive edge….
Rather than Countdown to Summer, Let’s Create Opportunities For A Fresh Start
When many students and teachers are counting down the days until summer, my mind is on focusing on fresh starts. We are finally coming out of the darkness of the pandemic, and looking towards what is next. Fisher, Frey, Smith, and Hattie (2021) talk of this next year in their latest book, Leading the Rebound,…
We are not lost, but we need to create a new roadmap, together
There is a lot of talk about learning loss and the challenges of returning to campus this spring and summer. Not to live life with rose-colored glasses, but I just know that things are not as bad as people make them out to be. There are some amazing resilient educators and students in the trenches,…
Celebrate Success: Walk into the Light
We are in our final weeks of this crazy pandemic impacted school year. I was the first to raise both hands, get my vaccine and jump into the classroom as soon as possible. I am not returning to anything that remotely looks or feels like pre-pandemic schooling. We have slowly come back to campus, with…
Sharing the Joy of Words
A quote from the novel Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley, My colleague Dr. Diane Lapp and I love words, When we work with students in our English courses, we are known for stopping a discussion midstream to highlight a word in the text that we find interesting. We model close reading continuously, not…
Building on NWP Voices, It’s My Turn To Add to the Conversation
So I put my dissertation within the stack of National Writing Project authors that I admire. I am working on a chapter on the power of digital writing highlighting tools and strategies I use with my students. My work, like many other writers, stands on the work of others. My involvement in the San Diego…
Reflecting Back to Move Forward
COVID has given each of us time to reflect. The past 14 months have been life-altering in so many different ways. As we come out of the darkness of fear, there is now the new challenge of how to move forward. Life as we know it has literally turned upside down. I have spent more…
Growing In, Growing Out
Returning to the classroom after teaching from home for over a year has been enlightening. Even with less than two weeks under my belt, I realize the importance of a school and classroom space. I love being on a school campus. I love the day-to-day interaction with both students and adults. I love creating physical…
“It’s Been a Minute”
March 13th, 2020 we walked out of our building, thinking we would be back in a few weeks, a few months tops. We never went back. The Independent Study Center site closed during COVID. Litte did I know as we packed up our personal things last spring that would be the last time I was…