069: Stop Wiping the Sink. Start Changing the Pattern. Oct 04, 2025

How many times did I get irritated today because I had to wipe water off the back of my phone after setting it down on the sink…

Before I finally just dried off the ledge?

(Hint: TOO many!)

The Pattern We Miss

It made me laugh at myself. Why keep...

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068: Duct Tape, Hammers, and the Myth of “Soft” Skills Sep 23, 2025

Near my kitchen, I keep two easy-to-grab baskets.

One holds a hammer, screwdriver, nails, and screws. I rarely use it, but when I do, it’s for something obvious, like hanging a whiteboard in my office, putting up a picture, or fixing a stubborn shel...

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067: Drawing the Line: Language, Empathy, and Boundaries Sep 22, 2025

Last year, while facilitating a session with middle school teachers, I referred to a small group as “you guys.”

If you’re from the Philadelphia region, you know this word isn’t gendered in everyday use. It’s a common way to address a group of people...

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066: 5 SEL Skills, 2nd Grade, 1 Afternoon Sep 15, 2025

When my son, Jared, was in second grade, I came home from work to find him sitting on the couch. His head was down, his arms folded across his lap, and he looked upset.

“Jared, what’s going on?” I asked.

He sighed and said, “I had a really bad day ...

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065: The Sea Squirt and the Cost of Standing Still Sep 09, 2025

There’s a small sea creature called the sea squirt that begins life with a brain.

As a larva, it swims freely through the ocean, exploring and searching for the right spot to anchor. Once it finds that spot (a rock, a dock, or a coral surface ), eve...

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064: The Hidden Lesson in a "D" Aug 29, 2025

My middle son took Organic Chemistry (Orgo) 1 and 2 last year at Villanova. He’s a civil engineering major, but he loves chemistry, and he’s worked in the chemistry lab on campus for the past two years.

He got a C in Orgo 1 and a D+ in Orgo 2.

When...

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063: More Than a Feeling: Moving from Empathy to Compassionate Action Aug 26, 2025

It was February 2020. A dear friend and I had just settled into our seats on a New York City subway to see a Broadway show. Across from us sat a man, alone in the center of a nearly empty row. He was hunched over, his gaze fixed on the grimy floor be...

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062: Feeding the Right Wolf: Lessons from Karate Kid, Old and New Aug 13, 2025

I just watched the newest Karate Kid: Legends, and it instantly transported me back to my childhood.

I couldn’t help but remember when the original Karate Kid came out. Daniel LaRusso moved to Reseda, California, from Newark, New Jersey, while I onl...

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061: Grass Remembers: A Lesson for Life and Learning Aug 05, 2025

“How the patterns we create shape the way we grow”

When I was in college, summer breaks often meant working alongside my father, a landscaper. My brothers, sister, and mom placed bets on how long I’d last - manual labor, scorching heat, long pants, ...

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060: Micro-Resets, Macro-Impact: Teaching SEL Without Scripts Aug 05, 2025

When I taught 11th-grade U.S. history, one of the classes was deep in a primary‑source analysis about the Harlem Renaissance.

Halfway through, I could feel the room tilting. Two groups were quietly shutting down, one was off‑task, and tension was ri...

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059: You Don’t Have to Do It All: SEL and the Power of Small Steps Jul 27, 2025

When the Common Core literacy standards were first introduced, my immediate reaction was: No way.

I became a social studies teacher for a reason. I didn’t want to teach grammar. I didn’t want to focus on writing mechanics. That was for the ELA teach...

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057: Helping Students Recognize When They Need A Brain Break May 03, 2024

As the testing season approaches, I partnered with the amazing @Jenny_Orr on a mini-project to help students recognize when they need a brain break.

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