About This Front Porch
Conversations and essays to encourage those who teach, lead, and serve
My story
For more than five decades, I’ve had the privilege of serving educators.
As a teacher, coach, principal, district leader, consultant, and author, over the years I’ve written about professional learning communities, school leadership, the power of using collaborative team structures to erase inequities with student and adult learning in our schools, educator wellness, K–12 mathematics, and the importance of building school cultures where both students and adults can flourish.
Along the way in my own journey of teaching, learning, and serving, I’ve come to believe that the most meaningful conversations aren’t only the ones we have for improving our schools. They begin when we ask two enduring questions.
What is the profession asking of me?
And perhaps even more importantly…
What is life asking of me?
The answers don’t lie in what we do, our job titles, or even our social media profiles. The answers lie deep within who we are becoming as teachers and leaders, as family members and friends.
We are to be providers of heart, soul, joy, and always – hope!
—Tim Kanold
This “front porch” space is filled with essays and conversations acknowledging the day-to-day grind while bringing our best to the journey ahead.
It begins with the very first word in this website’s title. Living. It’s about recognizing we do not leave our humanity at the schoolhouse door. Every day we carry our hopes and disappointments, our celebrations and questions, our stress and our joy into our classrooms, offices, team meetings – and into our interactions with friends and family members.
That’s why I created Living the PLC Life!
Here you’ll find weekly essays and conversations about teaching and leading and life. Stories that are sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, and sometimes tender. There are three categories of essays. First, reflections from my PLC books HEART!, SOUL!, and JOY!. Second, research affirmed actions for K–12 mathematics.
And, essays with an open invitation to help shape my newest PLC project, On Hope, as it gradually unfolds.
“Welcome! May we each become good, in order to inspire good in others!“
“My hope is that, over time, this front porch becomes a place we return to together-a place that reminds us to live with our whole hearts, to teach and lead with kindness and love, to provide hope, and to let joy find its way into our daily life.“
—Tim Kanold
For those of you interested to learn more about my journey press the button below or go to Solution Tree.
