Nick – Page 4 – Mr. Zerwas Teaches Here

California Ed Code 48907

I know. It’s a catchy title for a blog post. California Educational Code 48907 has to do with students’ freedom of speech rights. Here’s an excerpt: “Pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press including, but not limited to, the use ofContinue reading “California Ed Code 48907”

Racial Bias in Parent Communication

Several months ago I completed a quick online test from Project Implicit that was designed to measure implicit stereotyping and biases. The process was really thought-provoking and it led to several good conversations with colleagues about how we interact with students. One thing that I hadn’t considered at the time was how dramatically an educator’sContinue reading “Racial Bias in Parent Communication”

Understanding vs. Appreciating

I read a case study this week that ended up leading to some great discussion with a few colleagues. The study told the story of a 13 year old Vietnamese boy named Khoi who had lived with his mother in Seattle for the last 8 months. Khoi was suspended from school for 5 days forContinue reading “Understanding vs. Appreciating”

Cultural Mindfulness

In a Forbes article from 2015 called Why You Need Cultural Intelligence, folks from the IESE Business School explain the concept of cultural intelligence as a sort of x-factor that has the potential to “drive up innovation and creativity” as it allows someone to integrate different perspectives across cultural barriers. They talk about the immenseContinue reading “Cultural Mindfulness”

The Engagement Continuum

The focus this week has been on engaging parents and families. Part of the conversation that has been sticking with me is the distinction between parent participation, parent involvement and parent engagement. When you think about the words participation, involvement, and engagement as they relate to relationships, they have a very different connotation. I don’tContinue reading “The Engagement Continuum”

Keeping it Local

Last week I found myself carefully exploring the details of the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) and the LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan). How’s that for an engaging hook for a blog post? The formula itself is somewhat interesting, as there are several variables in play that impact how much money is allotted to eachContinue reading “Keeping it Local”

What’s your passion?

We talked about the makings of a great leaders this week. The discussion started with an examination of James Kouzes and Barry Posner’s list of “Ten Truths About Leadership.” The truths they list are helpful but not surprising. They mention things like believing in yourself, building credibility, developing relationships, sticking to you values, etc. AsContinue reading “What’s your passion?”

Another List – Teacher Traits

I had fun writing last week’s list but I didn’t think that I’d make a habit of it. But then someone posed this question yesterday to a group of educators I’m a part of: “What traits make up a good teacher?” If this doesn’t lend itself to another list, I don’t know what does. TheContinue reading “Another List – Teacher Traits”

Teaching on purpose

My 9 year old is obsessed with soccer right now. It seems like he’s constantly dribbling a ball around the house, trying new moves to get by his brothers and sister, passing the ball off the walls over and over, and seeing how many times he can juggle the ball without it touching the ground. Continue reading “Teaching on purpose”