Chris.Gruhlke

Chris Gruhlke

Chris Gruhlke is a published author with a broad writing background covering a variety of topics, including politics, education, public safety, and technology. In 2018, he joined Edmentum as a Bid Operations Writer, where he helps to bring Edmentum’s transformational solutions to school districts across the United States.

All Posts by Chris Gruhlke

[Weekly Inspiration] This 8th Grade Teacher Brought Her Old Journals to Get Her Students Comfortable Writing

Like many of us, Ariel Sacks has a vivid memory of an experience with a teacher in her youth that has informed how she treats her students.

[Weekly Inspiration] An Elementary School Teacher Finds Inspiration in Tragedy

The recent helicopter crash that took Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people from us has touched a lot of people around the world.

[Weekly Inspiration] This Teacher Has Hatched Chicks With Her Students For 33 Years

For the STEM students at Stonehurst Avenue Elementary Stem Magnet in Sun Valley, CA, spring is a very special time of year. For the last 33 years, teacher Cynthia Christopher runs a very special project: she and her students hatch chicks in the classroom.

[Weekly Inspiration] This Stern Calculus Teacher Has a Soft Secret

For his students, Jim O’Connor has always been a stern-but-capable, respected-but-feared high-school math teacher. Nearly all of them like him, but they also might say that he’s a bit of a drudge. And for most of his life, that’s all his students ever thought of him.

[Weekly Inspiration] Words of Wisdom from a 40-Year School Secretary

When Nila Brown joined the Anne Arundel County school system in Maryland, Jimmy Carter was president and Love Boat was still on television. At the time, she had just graduated and was just excited and proud to get to work with a district she loved. 42 years later, Nila can reflect back on having made a very big difference.

[Weekly Inspiration] This Middle School Teacher Fostered A Student Battling Kidney Disease

A few months ago, middle-school teacher Finn Lanning and 13-year-old student Damien knew each other only as teacher and student. This relationship was all normal, up until Damien approached his teacher one day and said that he wouldn’t be coming back to school.

[Weekly Inspiration] Teacher Goes the Extra Mile to Bring Disabled Student on Field Trip

Every school in America is filled with students facing unique challenges. For Ryan King, a fourth grader in Louisville, that challenge is spina bifida, a rare spinal condition that keeps her bound to a wheelchair for mobility. And like any other 10-year-old, she hates to miss out on an adventure. When her school arranged a hiking field trip at a state park to look at fossil beds, she was very upset. But teacher Jim Freeman wasn’t about to let her be left out and made her an extraordinary offer.

[Weekly Inspiration] How to Ask for Help – And Get A Yes

One of the most difficult things for capable, experienced professionals to do is ask for help. It’s uncomfortable, embarrassing, and often feels like an admission of failure. But it isn’t; it’s an important skill, and mastering it is critical for students and teachers alike. Heidi Grant, a social psychologist who writes and speaks on the science of motivation, can offer us some pointers.