The next time I buy a house, I will make sure that cable and Internet are connected before closing. While it sounds like a weird contingency and is certainly something that I didn't anticipate to be a problem, buying a house that Comcast/Xfinity won't service until April-ish has really opened my eyes to how much teachers do outside the classroom and on the Internet. Over the past few weeks, I've answered emails, posted grades, and conducted research for lessons and classroom activities from my smartphone and laptop thanks to my iPhone's tethering capabilities. And because of this, I am realizing how limiting this situation really is. In this day and age, teachers are expected to respond quickly. When a parent emails, I try to respond within 24 hours. If it weren't for my smartphone, some would go unanswered until I could return to work. I'm even imagining a situation where I didn't have my own laptop. I can't begin to consider how I could accomplis
Lessons from a novice teaching life