What are you gonna write about?

The blog will mostly be stuff I've learned teaching, counseling and working with kids. Suggestions I give new teachers, parents, and students. Some will be teaching ideas. Some will be observations. Some will be how teaching influences us outside of class and how outside of class influences teaching. Our life experiences and our students' life experiences all come together so no two classes are the same.

Once in a while I will comment on current events and issues in education or other areas of life.  Everything influences you and your classroom.

Why Jolly Ranchers & Rabbit Trails?  An awesome title thanks to a friend.

Jolly Ranchers refer to the actual candy themselves.  They are great as a reward, a just-because treat, and as motivation.  I have had students who would complete the work for the Jolly Rancher, but not for a grade. 

The rabbit trails refer to chasing rabbits, which are called Teachable Moments in the classroom.  A great deal of learning takes place in the stories and off-topic conversations and discussions.  Usually the topics do relate back to the academic topic, but not always.