To be blunt, there is little any of us can do about writing instruction being messy and complicated, but one way to help those realities not unnecessarily impede good instruction and robust learning is to be aware as a teacher of the “why” and “what” before designing the “how.”

The more notes students record the higher their achievement. But many students are incomplete note takers, usually recording just one-third of important lesson ideas in notes.

The ultimate reckoning for the inexcusable must include setting aside the distractions and facing so that we can address directly the inequities that plague our students and their families both in their communities and the schools that serve them.

The idea that someone can parachute into a district and suddenly reverse years of problems (including problems they ignore) quickly and easily is either naivete or a cynical mask for a hostile takeover.

Burnout is a stress-related state of exhaustion and often leads to feelings of isolation, low accomplishment and even depression. Although research has long shown that burnout affects employees, we now know burnout also affects students.

In general, I think we have become too reliant on technology in schools. We’ve welcomed and incorporated it without testing it, or even reflecting upon whether it promises to offer better pathways toward student comprehension and discovery or whether it merely offers flash and novelty devoid of substance.

You can’t raise expectations while taking away resources, union protections, and fair ways to evaluate their work. And to his credit, state Sen. Ryan Aument seems to have finally seen the light.