By Tamara Fyke This is it! The last weeks of school.  You’re counting down the days until you hear the final bell ring sounding your freedom.  Summer is almost here.  After about a week of lounging on the couch, you will realize how much time you have on your hands.  You can only watch so ...

  By Tamara Fyke A friend of mine has two young school-age boys, kindergarten and second grade.  The other week she posted a photo of her youngest slumped over the kitchen table with his head down, feeling discouraged about his online experience.  Our district is offering remote learning only through Fall Break in early October, ...

  By Tamara Fyke   Yesterday I was part of a strategy meeting with a Nashville non-profit that provides school-based services.  The team includes a mix of working moms and single women who are working as university professors, school counselors, teachers, and non-profit leaders.  We reviewed the work in progress and talked about the coming ...

  By Tamara Fyke I have a crazy idea. What if we stopped fighting technology? Instead of punishing our students for bringing their phones to class, what if we allowed their phones?  I asked my college-aged son his opinion about my idea. He’s an expert, since he’s almost done with his K-20 journey. He pondered ...

  By Tamara Fyke   Although we are surrounded by the beauty of lights, wreaths and snow, the holiday season can be an incredibly painful time for many of us.  Perhaps, it’s because we have been estranged from loved ones for years.  Maybe it’s because we are afraid of being under the family microscope.  Or ...

  By Tamara Fyke   In order to further our conversation about SEL and EdTech, I am building on the three strategies featured in “How Can SEL & EdTech Work Together“: Three strategies for using technology to support social-emotional skill development: Have the conversations – Use and define a common language for social-emotional learning and make explicit connections ...

  By Tamara Fyke   Over the past year, I have had countless conversations with educators, from administrators to classroom teachers, about their perspectives on social-emotional learning (SEL).  My team and I have asked questions about current practices and needs.  The most common response we have received, without question, is the need to build the ...

  By Tamara Fyke   As an educator and parent, I feel I have been waging the war against screens for more than a decade.  In the classroom, even with adults, it’s a challenge to get learners to focus on what is happening in our space in the present moment; at home, it can be ...