2026-07-15
The Lost Art of Handwriting and Understanding
Sometimes, I think about all the stuff we used to do before screens took over everything. Not that I’m against them – my students are practically born with t...
Tony Marino
3rd/4th grade teacher, West Philly. Fishtown by way of Havertown. I write about what happens in room 214 — what kids reveal, what it means, what I've learned from watching people figure things out. Sometimes about the city. Sometimes dinner.
2026-07-15
Rewriting How We See The World
Sometimes I watch my second graders try to draw a dinosaur. Not a T. Rex they’ve seen a hundred times, but something new – a Baryonyx, maybe, or a Therizinos...
2026-07-14
Summer’s Spark: Rekindling Curiosity and Play
Alright, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately—watching my cousins' kids and even remembering being that age myself. That feeling of freedom in the s...
2026-07-14
Back to School Feelings Patience and Preparation
September’s coming up quick, and you can feel it in the air—a certain restlessness among the kids I see around Fishtown. It reminds me a little of that heavy...
2026-07-14
Reading: Discovery Not Duty
Sometimes, I feel like I'm battling a tide. You see these parents—good people, really—worried sick about their kids and reading. Summer’s over, routines are ...
2026-07-14
The Compromise of Learning
It’s funny, really – how everything feels like a compromise these days. I was sitting at my kitchen table last week, stirring that gravy my grandmother start...
2026-07-14
Money Lessons: Small Steps to Big Understanding
Sometimes, I think about what I wish someone had taught me when I was younger—not some big, dramatic thing, but something practical, something that would hav...
2026-07-14
Food, Focus, and Finding a Little Help
Sometimes it feels like everything we do as teachers is just…patchwork. We’re trying to fix things, help kids find a way, but you're always working with what...
2026-07-14
Beyond Phones: What Schools Really Need
Sometimes it feels like we’re just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, right? That’s what I keep thinking about with this new study everyone's talking ab...
2026-07-14
Letting Them Learn: The Power of Slow Growth
Sometimes, I see parents hovering – really hovering – over their kids’ schoolwork. Like they’re worried a dust mote will derail a whole semester. And look, I...
2026-07-13
The Softening: Rebuilding After Summer
The bell rings, and it’s back to the slow creep of summer settling into our routines. It's not a bad thing, really. Just… noticeable. Like the way the light ...
2026-07-12
Less Stuff, More Life: A Simpler Path
Sometimes, I think about how much stuff we accumulate. Not just toys and books for the kids in room 214 – though there’s a *lot* of that – but everything. Cl...