Speaking to Teachers and Policymakers
Larry Ferlazzo, a Sacramento (CA) high school English/social studies teacher and blogger, interviewed me recently. Here are a few of my answers to his questions. The advice I offer teachers here comes largely from my 14 years as a high school history teacher in urban schools and the 20 years of teaching I have done at Stanford University.
If you were going to offer teachers three key pieces of advice that you think might help them to stay in the profession longer and be more effective educators, what would they be?
1. Re-pot yourself every few years.
Teaching is energizing but also exhausting work. When teaching you spend the rich intellectual, physical, and emotional capital that you have accumulated over the years on students. Because of that draining of your
