On Friday, I was so pleased to be able to return to one of my favorite days of the year, High-Interest Day at Brookfield Elementary School. This is a day where I have been able to bring the concepts of physics to k-5 graders. You may be asking yourself, "Elementary students doing physics?" YES! Not just experimenting, but understanding the concepts behind the physics of electricity and sound. This is a very special day I have had the opportunity to be involved in since 2017. So, how are we able to bring the concepts of electricity and sound traditionally taught to high school 11th and 12th graders to the elementary level? There are a few keys 1) make it a hands-on experience 2) remove the mathematical calculations and make it practical. In the past, I had the luck of bringing a handful of my physics students with me to guide the elementary students through the concepts that they had learned over the course of the year. But in my new role as a Teaching and Learning Speciali
Personal events this week have forced me to ignore any prompts and go from the heart. Fourteen years ago we brought home a 12 week old puppy. We named her Georgia (after the song but there is a constant battle over which version is better Willie Nelson or Ray Charles) and have cared for her ever since. This past weekend, our poochie passed unexpectedly. To say it has thrown me out of sorts would be an understatement. But, like usual my work carries me through. My affection for Georgia has been one of the strongest insights students get about me as a person. When they make their passion pages in their portfolio on day 1, they see Georgia at the very top on my passion page template. She is also the lock screen on the iPad students use to log into resource block. And she’s the wallpaper on the laptop I use in class. So even though I don’t spend much time in class talking about my dog, students have picked up on how big a part of my life she is. It’s amazing how many st