On August 2nd, 2006 before tip-off of an NBA game, Natalie Gilbert was scheduled to sing the national anthem. She had the flu that day but she still decided to sing before the Blazers and Mavericks played to determine who would advance to the Western Conference Semifinals. The anthem began and it seemed like all would go well however it was clear that Gilbert forgot the lyrics of the anthem in the middle of the song. She stops, tries to recover, but then she drops her head down to her microphone hand as if embarrassed to continue. It was at this moment that Blazers Coach Mo Cheeks walks up next to her and begins to sing the words where she left off.
If anyone had an excuse not to intervene in the game introductions, it would be the Head Coach who would be more concerned with the game itself. It was…
If given the opportunity, would a student hack a teacher’s Facebook profile? The normal Monday morning routine usually begins like this for my 7th graders. Me -> “Good morning class! Happy Monday-” Random Student -> “BOOOO! It’s not a Happy Monday!” or “Whatever Mr. E” It’s also obvious that they are looking to the end…
read more »Dear Admissions Officer at Stanford University – I noticed that in this year’s application to the Graduate School of Business you ask, “What matters to you most?” It’s a hard question for me to answer but I would like to address the question on behalf of one of my students, TS. He is a 7th…
read more »To assuage any worries out there, I have no intention of quitting. I am committed to this job and I really do love my kids. If you read the TeachForUs blogs often, you’ll probably come to the conclusion that this job is very difficult. I guess the one thing that I haven’t gotten use to…
read more »I’ll be the first to admit that I probably let my kids get away with more than what is advised to any teacher. I don’t mean that I let them get away with cheating or fighting but the “white noise,” an extra bathroom break, or periodic episodes of shenanigans … yeah that happens in my…
read more »It was bittersweet to find a note on the back of one of my finals saying, “We love you, Mr. L!” I had the chance to start reflecting on my first semester as a teacher during my long drive back to Indiana … eight hours of flat road! These were the moments that stuck with…
read more »Not sure how to describe the feeling of lying on my couch back in Indiana curled up in a blanket while watching football and sipping on a coffee with a splash of Bailey’s. It’s been almost six months since I returned to Indiana … the longest that I have been away from home. I am…
read more »I don’t think I have ever appreciated school breaks more until now as I am currently on fall break. The last couple of weeks at school were quite rough. It’s pretty obvious that classroom management is not one of my strong traits. It’s not that I’m too nice bur rather that I’m too slow. Misbehaviors…
read more »I’m trying hard to post more than once a month but apparently it’s just normal for a teacher to always feel behind. As a result, I’m constantly asking myself, “How can I squeeze every minute to catch up?” Probably a bad question to ask myself since I know that immediately there are two possible answers.…
read more »It’s been about two full weeks of teaching for me at my placement. If my calculations are correct, I have already spent more time teaching than I did my entire summer institute. The irony is that I probably have less confidence in my teaching abilities now than I did a couple short months ago. Of…
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