Aly Gulamhusein

Tag: Teaching

  • December 7, 2025

    I got the chance to tuck away a little today and work on a small project. On Friday, I had an idea at school: 3D print templates for students to use to make cardboard bridges. While at work on Friday, to help distract me, I worked on a sample build. Over this weekend, I designed and 3D printed some stencils to use. Today, I built a sample.

    This is the arch template.
    The cardboard bridge after it’s been put together.

    I think it worked out pretty well, but I’ve already got some ideas for improvements, which I’ll wait on. Now, I’m going to try using them with my students. Having these side-foci helps me get through the days.

  • December 2, 2025

    I thought I’d feel differently about school and teaching now that I have a child of my own. Maybe that’s a sentiment that grows, instead of one that spontaneously springs forth when a child of your own is born. The building still felt sterile, most of my colleagues remained at a distance, and the students continued on, as they always have, appearing to be increasingly apathetic about learning.

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  • November 18, 2025

    Back when I was making a podcast, I made an episode about making teaching work for you. I imagine I said something about…you know, I don’t have a clue what I would’ve said on the topic. Today, however, I’ve been reminded about the notion because I’d like to test out a few ideas in my classroom.

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  • September 9, 2025

    ChatGPT is now my writing coach. I threw a couple of blog posts at it to see what it would send back. The feedback, not unsurprisingly, is helpful, well-articulated, and actionable. It’s great descriptive feedback, something I find difficult to offer my students.

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  • September 4, 2025

    Turning my mind away from thinking about school is difficult. The place – the energy of the place – is pervasive. It’s not particular to the school I’m currently at. Indeed, it seems to be at every school I’ve been to. There seems to be no effective way to just leave it behind.

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  • September 3, 2025

    I’m feeling pretty lazy tonight so writing this post feels like a bit of a chore. I don’t want to make a habit out of writing these stupid posts just to keep my daily-posting streak going, but there are going to be a good few more of these.

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  • September 2, 2025

    I stood there dumbfounded, unable to think on my feet and with nowhere to sit. My eyes wandered, looking for a solution. Finally, I heard her voice, calling the students back to the carpet, same as I had been doing, and proposing to sing a song, which I avoided doing. That early childhood educator helped me through that first period back.

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  • April 23, 2025

    April 23, 2025

    I tried to publish a blog post yesterday only to find out that the website has been down for a while. What was meant to be a quick, 15- to 20-minute thing turned into me trying to figure out DNS settings with blurry eyes until about midnight. Somehow, I ended up getting it to work.

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  • October 10, 2023

    I learned something about myself today that I already knew. See, I was given the day to clean a room of the library. Just the one room. It was a mess, filled with loose cables and broken computers. Spending the day working on just the one task reminded me of how I work best when I’m given time to focus.

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  • October 3, 2023

    I gave my students “toilet tokens” today. Last night, I printed off some miniature toilets on my 3D printer and each of my students in one of my classes one. I’ve had enough of them leaving class every single day.

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  • September 22, 2023

    One of my students asked me how I’m doing this afternoon. I told him, and the rest of the class, that I’ve been in a terrible mood for the last couple of weeks and can’t figure out why. We joked about how it was probably because of school and them, the class. Truthfully, I don’t know why I’ve been so sour lately.

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  • September 15, 2023

    Do you see yourself as a leader?

    This is a writing prompt.

    A couple of years ago, I had a vice-principal who was encouraging me to take my principal qualifications. She told me that I have leadership qualities, that I like to move conversations and ideas forward. I appreciate what she said but I don’t know that that’s what makes for a good leader.

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