Category Archives: Challenges & Frustrations

Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn: Leveling Students by Trauma Response

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Mr. Bigler

My students are working on solving physics word problems systematically. This is one of the most frustrating (for the students) assignments I give them, but a valuable one because it’s essentially end game for every assignment they will see for … Continue reading →

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How Did Teaching Get So Hard?

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Mr. Bigler

Every teacher has opinions about why the past two years have been much harder for teachers than previous years. Recent studies, including a February 2022 Gallup poll, show that teachers have the highest rates of burnout of any profession. +20

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Wise Fools

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Mr. Bigler

As you may or may not know, the etymology of the word “sophomore” is “wise fool”. The term is usually used for second-year students in high school or college because they often know enough to understand how the system works … Continue reading →

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Quotes from Students

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Mr. Bigler

It’s almost the end of the toughest school year in the career of every teacher I know, including myself. As a present to myself, I made this slide show out of appreciative quotes from my students throughout the year.  +10

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PEMDAS is Not a Conspiracy

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Mr. Bigler

Today in one of my physics classes, I was explaining how to determine the voltage across and the current through resistors in a mixed series & parallel circuit: +10

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Follow-Up to Resiliency & Pandemic Fatigue

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Mr. Bigler

Two weeks ago, I posted (https://blog.mrbigler.com/2020/11/18/resiliency-and-pandemic-fatigue/) about students who were struggling to do much of anything this year because of their situations. In many cases, these students have difficult home lives. The messages coming at them have been negative (and … Continue reading →

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Resiliency and Pandemic Fatigue

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Mr. Bigler

At the beginning of every school year, I survey my (11th & 12th grade) students for several things, including ACEs and resilience (using the ACE survey and the resilience survey from ACEs Too High), as well as things like time … Continue reading →

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Being Amazing On Demand

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Mr. Bigler

When teachers say that we’re struggling, our friends, students, former students and parents of our students rush to comfort us, saying things like “you’re doing an amazing job, especially given the circumstances,” or “we’re lucky to have such amazing teachers.” … Continue reading →

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Student Struggles & Anxiety

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Mr. Bigler

I have observed a couple of disconcerting trends in my teaching career. Since I started teaching in 2003, students are struggling more, particularly with math and critical thinking, and students’ anxiety levels are skyrocketing. +40

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Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Can Teach, Teach

Posted on April 23, 2016 by Mr. Bigler

Recently, a friend trotted out the old adage, “Those who can, do.  Those who can’t, teach.”  This quote bothers me.  I understand the frustration behind it, but my experience suggests otherwise. +1-1

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