Thompson R2-J Blogs

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a […]

There are times when we are absolutely nowhere. ~ Sam Seaborn (The West Wing)

When the tears started welling up and falling from the student’s eyes, I knew I had done it. With a raised voice full of power and […]

I chuckled to myself when I read the comments under a school district’s posting that there would be no snow day. Almost as much as I did when I heard about parents being upset with the school for their child being […]

This is the sixth installment of a series making an appearance occasionally in this blog designed to give some specific guidance regarding how to work with an organization on intercultural responsiveness. The […]

Quite often I find myself shaking my head in frustration with how a conversation has gone with someone regarding a discipline issue with their child. I’m not sure what I think is worse: The parental reaction that […]

This is a photograph of me and my brother. The younger, cuter one is me. I’m quickly approaching my 20th year as an educator. It’s amazing to consider how fast two decades have passed as I’ve journeyed through […]

I thought about my girls.

My wife, Cristin, turned 35 on Friday, December 14th, 2012. She was a 4th grade teacher until my youngest daughter, Eden, joined us on December 19th, 2008. A Pinkalicious birthday […]

“But, who has the national championship banners?” was the smug little reply you’d hear as a Purdue fan bashing Bobby Knight. “Well, you can’t argue with success,” was another gem mentioned on more than one […]

We’re obsessed with student growth and achievement as educators. Education should be focused on student growth and achievement, and educators should be focused on student growth and achievement. But, let’s be […]

This is the fifth installment of a series making an appearance occasionally in this blog designed to give some specific guidance regarding how to work with an organization on intercultural responsiveness. The […]

As I watched my daughter handed over to her mother so soon after her adenotonsillectomy, I looked at my wife with eyes of assurance that the reaction from her daughter was completely normal. Watching a seemingly […]

I’ve noticed a fairly disturbing trend recently in some chatter through social media (my preferred form of professional reading). While this line of thinking being shared certainly isn’t new, with a new school […]

Sometimes I envy the educators I interact with on Twitter and Facebook, at the conferences I occasionally attend, within the meetings I find myself, and inside the walls of my own building. I think I’m a fairly […]

I am a husband, a father, an educator.

Yes, I am more than that. But, too often being more than that gets confused with either myself or others thinking I can go beyond my limitations. Too often I confuse […]

We love to break things.

It’s why as children we bust up the newly formed sand castle, the neatly lined toys, and the recently created block structure. It’s why as adults we watch with amazement as a building […]

I remember crying at Disney World.

Amidst that place of dreams coming true along the paths of perfection, nothing was going to erase the smile on my little girl’s face. Blessed with so much, including the […]