April 2020

Quotes you may hear an SK teacher say in the classroom: “keep your hands to yourself,” “come to the rug,” “let’s read a book,” “time to line up,” and many more. What you hear an SK teacher say on a ZOOM call: “we can’t see you,” “don’t unmute yourself,” “can you hear me?” and “I miss you!” The phrases and dialogue are very different from our norm in the classroom. I catch myself saying “I miss you” every day because I miss my students and our Rossman community. 

One of the many reasons I became a teacher was to try and connect with children. With our recent change to teaching online...Read more

When I was 12, I had a piano teacher named Ruth who did something curious. I loved playing music by ear and was developing a patience for reading music, but I had yet to begin appreciating technique. I didn’t want to practice scales and consider the angle of my wrist. I wanted to play the Maple Leaf Rag as fast (and sloppily) as I could. But she was wise and she could tell I simply didn’t understand the value of holding my hand at a precise angle, letting my wrist drive my fingers up the scale. 

Discovering a Difference

So one lesson, she didn’t take her...Read more