Thoughts and Ponderings on Leading and Learning

Making More Time

By: Alexandra Laing, first published on The Worthy Educator. When I was a student in high school, I was deeply engaged in the mental gymnastics of deciding what I was going to do when I grew…
Let’s Provide Teachers Sabbaticals

By: Alexandra Laing, first published in ASCD’s EL Magazine February 1, 2024 | Volume 81 | Number 5 I’ll never forget the moment I hit “send” on the organization-wide email that started with, “This is the job…
In a Moment of Crisis*

*Trigger Warning: This post discusses gun violence in schools. Teacher is a special brand of human. I remember the exact day and moment when I was in high school and I decided I wanted to…
Writing is Hard, but I Wasn’t Trying to Misbehave.

There is not a single student that has walked into my class with the intention of being difficult. Not a single one. I firmly believe that kids don’t come into a class hoping to misbehave,…
The First Impression

I grew up in the desert of Las Vegas. I took this picture on a trip home a few years ago, and it reminds me of the many ways the desert is beautiful. It’s wide…
Just 1 Thing

There’s a game that I’ve played before and undoubtedly will play again when I find myself sitting around a table with family or friends called, “Just One Thing.” It always begins with the same question…