About: Jon Konen

Jon Konen is a high school principal and freelance writer in Columbia Falls, Montana. He has been a superintendent and has taught most all grade levels K-6, and has been an instructional coach. In addition, he has been an elementary and middle principal. As a 5th grade teacher, in 2010 he won the Presidential Award for Elementary Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST). As a principal, his school won the 2012 Blue Ribbon Award. In 2018, he won the National Distinguished Principal Award (NDP). In 2019 he won the National No Kid Hungry Breakfast Hero Award. He is the author of three guides published on teacher.org: An Educator's Guide to Combat Bullying & Bully Prevention; Teacher Evaluation: A Transition Guide to Exemplary Performance; and You are the Wild Card: Infusing Fun Back into Curriculum. He has authored a children's picture book that was released January 2019 titled Benjamin’s Visit to Principal Reads Office…again! (available at www.archwaypublishing.com)

Recent Posts by Jon Konen

Zugzwang Zigzag: An Educator’s Nightmare

The current situation in America puts educators at a disadvantage…no matter what move we make to promote increased funding we are dividing our communities. Some communities are further along this continuum. I would like to coin this state of education, “The Zugzwang Zigzag!” Are you wondering what Zugzwang means yet? It is a German word…
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A Slice of Huckleberry Pie At the Crossroads of Public Education

Public education in America is at a crossroads! We can argue that these crossroads have paths towards public education or private ventures (vouchers, charter schools, etc.). We can argue this differently in every state, and if it hasn’t come to your state yet, it will! There is a scarring division over concerns that it is…
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3 Wishes I Made to a Genie to Change Education

When I rubbed the Tylenol bottle, I found a mysterious and mythical genie popping out of the top. Though I was digging into this bottle to relieve my pain, I laughed as he told me he would grant me three educational wishes. The genie seemed to have a glowing October orange aura around him as…
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10 Reminders to Keep Your Sanity

What many people in other professions don’t understand is how engrained and engaged educators are in the lives of their students once they step foot in our doorways. We now stay up at night worrying how to connect, how to feed, how to clothe, how to support their trauma, and how to engage them further…and…
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8 Teacher Tips When Dealing with Divorced Families

It is not uncommon to have over half of your students coming from a divorced family. Unfortunately, that percentage continues to climb. Hopefully families can work together to find what’s best for the kids, even though there can be contentious and difficult situations. Communication becomes difficult from a teacher’s standpoint when communication breaks down in…
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9 Reasons Not to Listen to Them…the Jokers!

Part 3 of 5 … Join us in the third installment of a five-part series that tells the story of how one dedicated principal observed positive change in the classroom when teachers incorporated the principles and philosophy from the popular book, The Wild Card by Hope and Wade King. I have always been a high…
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7 Steps for Putting the “PH” Back in PHUN in Your Classroom

Part 2 of 5 … Join us in the second installment of a five-part series that tells the story of how one dedicated principal observed positive change in the classroom when teachers incorporated the principles and philosophy from the popular book, The Wild Card by Hope and Wade King. 7 Reasons Why substantiates the need…
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