Rod just shared your essay, and it reminded me how much I miss your voice on Twitter. I so glad I found you again!
Right now, the feed is drowning in the same science of reading scripts, knowledge organizers, and one-size-fits-all takes. It's exhausting. And it's missing the kind of thoughtful, grounded conversations you always brought to the table.
I know you're high school and I was elementary, but I always loved reading your work especially your lesson ideas. I used to wish my kids could be in your class. That's not something I say lightly.
If you ever feel like sharing your Substack or just one lesson idea on Twitter again, I know I wouldn't be the only one grateful to see it.
Either way, thank you for writing. Your work matters.
I'd like to affirm here that I experience much of the same in your writing, Marcus. The inundation right now is crazyl, and when I see a new piece from The Broken Copier, I think thank goodness, a piece grounded in real reflection and conversation.
Appreciate this! Once my own school year picks up I'll probably share more individual lessons/ideas more frequently on Substack (including Notes) and on Bluesky, but Twitter just isn't a place I feel good about posting at anymore for a host of reasons—so probably won't end up back there in the near future.
That said, reading this is a genuine affirmation—and as someone with a first grader I very much value the work you're doing, too! I've seen my 6-year-old's world change in a single year, and know how much magic and power an elementary classroom can offer!
Love these! In the past, I've done an email for absent students. I draft it after the class, but add recipients while taking attendance. I like the packet idea for the other physical things. Thanks for writing this!
Oh, this email idea is making me think—I might end up stealing that wholesale, haha! Our lessons are in slide decks so it is easy to hyperlink them, too, along with a note that they were missed! Thank you for this share :)
Great ideas! I have never numbered desks before but I am trying that this year. We have flexible seating that comes in square, triangle, semi-circle, and bacon shapes, at both regular and bistro heights. Seating charts are kind of a nightmare, so I hope the number systems helps it feel less chaotic.
I think I've made a goal to make positive contact with every student about as many times as I've attempted to journal daily...with the same dismal results. I really like your idea of a simple chart and clipboard for tracking. That makes it seem more doable!
- Make sure that the place where you're teaching knows that you're teaching there: when I started a previous job, I was initially issued a student ID. Not really a big deal but it was a bit confusing (and I did have a little trouble convincing the security guy who was doing the IDs that I really was a professor).
- Know what classes you're going to be teaching: when I was teaching as an adjunct, there were times when I had multiple courses change the weekend before the semester started.
- Know when and where your classes meet: on one occasion I was about five minutes into my first-day-of-class spiel when a student raised their hand and said, "I think you're in the wrong room." (Only happened once, I swear! Also, where was the person who was *supposed* to be there?)
- Know when the semester starts: when I was working at a previous job, I was talking with a colleague on the phone, and he said, "Ready for the first day of classes tomorrow?" Which caused me no small confusion because I was (a) sure that classes weren't starting for another week, (b) completely incorrect, and (c) several states (and all of NYC) away from the college where I was teaching on Staten Island. The next morning I got a ride to Metro North, caught the train to Grand Central, took the subway to South Ferry, took the ferry to the island, took a bus to the college, and walked straight from the bus stop to my first class with a couple of minutes to spare.
- More seriously: try to make people feel like you're happy to see them. It goes a long way toward getting things off on the right foot, even if you're not entirely clear about where you are or what you're supposed to be doing.
Such good ideas here. I also appreciate you thinking through possible pitfalls with each...it's obvious you are planning and making a lot of micro decisions with these activities and have the experience to back it up. LOVE this template too....thanks for linking a copy!
Marcus,
Rod just shared your essay, and it reminded me how much I miss your voice on Twitter. I so glad I found you again!
Right now, the feed is drowning in the same science of reading scripts, knowledge organizers, and one-size-fits-all takes. It's exhausting. And it's missing the kind of thoughtful, grounded conversations you always brought to the table.
I know you're high school and I was elementary, but I always loved reading your work especially your lesson ideas. I used to wish my kids could be in your class. That's not something I say lightly.
If you ever feel like sharing your Substack or just one lesson idea on Twitter again, I know I wouldn't be the only one grateful to see it.
Either way, thank you for writing. Your work matters.
I'd like to affirm here that I experience much of the same in your writing, Marcus. The inundation right now is crazyl, and when I see a new piece from The Broken Copier, I think thank goodness, a piece grounded in real reflection and conversation.
Oh man, big smile getting out of work today and reading this 😀 thank you for this feedback!
Appreciate this! Once my own school year picks up I'll probably share more individual lessons/ideas more frequently on Substack (including Notes) and on Bluesky, but Twitter just isn't a place I feel good about posting at anymore for a host of reasons—so probably won't end up back there in the near future.
That said, reading this is a genuine affirmation—and as someone with a first grader I very much value the work you're doing, too! I've seen my 6-year-old's world change in a single year, and know how much magic and power an elementary classroom can offer!
Love these! In the past, I've done an email for absent students. I draft it after the class, but add recipients while taking attendance. I like the packet idea for the other physical things. Thanks for writing this!
Oh, this email idea is making me think—I might end up stealing that wholesale, haha! Our lessons are in slide decks so it is easy to hyperlink them, too, along with a note that they were missed! Thank you for this share :)
Great ideas! I have never numbered desks before but I am trying that this year. We have flexible seating that comes in square, triangle, semi-circle, and bacon shapes, at both regular and bistro heights. Seating charts are kind of a nightmare, so I hope the number systems helps it feel less chaotic.
I think I've made a goal to make positive contact with every student about as many times as I've attempted to journal daily...with the same dismal results. I really like your idea of a simple chart and clipboard for tracking. That makes it seem more doable!
These are great! Setting the bar a little lower:
- Make sure that the place where you're teaching knows that you're teaching there: when I started a previous job, I was initially issued a student ID. Not really a big deal but it was a bit confusing (and I did have a little trouble convincing the security guy who was doing the IDs that I really was a professor).
- Know what classes you're going to be teaching: when I was teaching as an adjunct, there were times when I had multiple courses change the weekend before the semester started.
- Know when and where your classes meet: on one occasion I was about five minutes into my first-day-of-class spiel when a student raised their hand and said, "I think you're in the wrong room." (Only happened once, I swear! Also, where was the person who was *supposed* to be there?)
- Know when the semester starts: when I was working at a previous job, I was talking with a colleague on the phone, and he said, "Ready for the first day of classes tomorrow?" Which caused me no small confusion because I was (a) sure that classes weren't starting for another week, (b) completely incorrect, and (c) several states (and all of NYC) away from the college where I was teaching on Staten Island. The next morning I got a ride to Metro North, caught the train to Grand Central, took the subway to South Ferry, took the ferry to the island, took a bus to the college, and walked straight from the bus stop to my first class with a couple of minutes to spare.
- More seriously: try to make people feel like you're happy to see them. It goes a long way toward getting things off on the right foot, even if you're not entirely clear about where you are or what you're supposed to be doing.
Such good ideas here. I also appreciate you thinking through possible pitfalls with each...it's obvious you are planning and making a lot of micro decisions with these activities and have the experience to back it up. LOVE this template too....thanks for linking a copy!