MVHS English teacher, forever learner, trying to make the best of each day in the classroom... and then get better. She/her.
Illinois
Joined September 2013
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Megan Cherne retweeted
When groups meet to brainstorm, good ideas are lost. People bite their tongues due to conformity pressure, noise, and ego threat.
A better approach is brainwriting: generate ideas separately, then meet to assess and refine.
Group wisdom begins with individual creativity.
Megan Cherne retweeted
I really need folks to understand that the work teachers have done over the past 2 1/2 yrs is nothing short of extraordinary. I've seen teachers whose own lives have been upended by grief, illness, & instability continue to show up for their students in countless, remarkable ways
Megan Cherne retweeted
Every single school should be working to figure out how to double plan time for teachers.
The US requires more instructional minutes from teachers than almost any other country in the world (Argentina and Chile are the only two higher than us).
A thread...
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“What vocabulary can describe the heartbeat of a parent pacing for hours outside a school, waiting to hear if their child survived? What sort of sentences can capture a fear that no family should have to hold?”
I spent last week thinking about what it means to be Black in a country where people hunt you & livestream your murder. I’ll now spend this week thinking about what it means to be a parent in a country where your child may not come home from school alive. theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv…
Megan Cherne retweeted
These are elementary school children who woke up this morning. Who ate their favorite cereal. Who tied their shoes in double knots. Who laughed with friends on the bus. Now more than a dozen are dead. This isn’t normal. It doesn’t have to be this way. It can’t keep being this way
Megan Cherne retweeted
It takes a monster to kill children. But to watch monsters kill children again and again and do nothing isn’t just insanity—it’s inhumanity.
You don’t need a page if it can be said in a paragraph.
Being a good writer isn’t about using fancy words or complex sentences. It’s about igniting interest and communicating clearly.
Kahneman & Harari write at a 9th-10th grade level. Tolstoy 8th, Austen 7th, Hemingway 4th.
You don't need a page if it can be said in a paragraph.
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Megan Cherne retweeted
Shielding students from uncomfortable ideas isn't education. It's groupthink.
In healthy learning cultures, students are invited to take intellectual risks. They gain the courage to challenge each other's views—and their own.
Silencing dissent is an enemy of critical thinking.
What’s a “best practice” or routine that is holding education back in today’s world?
Many “best practices” were created for a world that no longer exists.
In the face of change, the routines that once moved you forward often become the ruts that hold you back.
No practice is ever perfect. The day you stop being open to improving is the day you start stagnating.
Adam Grant with all the wisdom and truth this week.
Burnout isn't due to a lack of motivation. It's caused by a shortage of capacity.
There are more interesting people and projects than hours in the day. The key question isn't whether you have interest. It's whether you have bandwidth.
Enthusiasm is boundless. Time is finite.
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Megan Cherne retweeted
"I am who I am" isn't a justification for treating people poorly.
We all have multiple selves. It's up to you to decide which elements of your identity and personality show up.
If you didn't consider the interests of others, you didn't bring the best version of yourself.
Megan Cherne retweeted
You don't have to agree with everything I think.
I don't even agree with everything I think.
Megan Cherne retweeted
Don't confuse being a fast talker with being a deep thinker. Speaking quickly signals confidence, not complexity.
Don't mistake volume for expertise. Speaking loudly reflects conviction, not credibility.
Sometimes the best ideas come from the least assertive voice in the room.
Megan Cherne retweeted
Introducing #PopRhetoric!
In this space we will:
- introduce different rhetorical devices each week
- ask you for your favorite song lyrics that illustrate them
Megan Cherne retweeted
If two people always agree, it’s a sign that at least one of them isn’t thinking critically—or speaking candidly.
Differences of opinion don't have to be threats. They can be opportunities to learn.
Intellectual friction isn't a relationship bug. It's a feature of education.
Megan Cherne retweeted
Hope to see all our Mustang comedians at Monday’s Theater meeting! #YesAnd
