Opinion
Teaching Opinion

As He Retires, Larry Ferlazzo Reflects on Decades of Teaching

By Lauren Santucci — July 11, 2025 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Ahead of his retirement after more than two decades in the classroom, California teacher and author Larry Ferlazzo sat down with Education Week to answer some questions and share his thoughts on the profession and the future of education.

Since 2010, he has been the curator and writer for the Education Week Opinion blog, Classroom Q & A With Larry Ferlazzo. He has included the contributions of more than a thousand educators in that space, reaching millions of readers on classroom management, instructional practice, and other challenges teachers face.

Ferlazzo has no plans to stop writing or teaching. He will continue his Education Week opinion blog and plans to be a volunteer teacher to incarcerated youth this fall.

How do you build relationships with students?

What is the value of inductive teaching?

What is the key to student motivation?

Related Tags:

Jaclyn Borowski, Director of Photography & Videography and Elizabeth Rich, Assistant Managing Editor, Opinion contributed to this opinion article.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Squeeze More Learning Time Out of the School Day
Learn how to increase learning time for your students by identifying and minimizing classroom disruptions.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Opinion The Books That Teachers Say Made Them Better at Their Job
Educators have taken inspiration through books dealing with a diverse range of subject.
12 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion This Halloween, Teach Your Students Ghost Stories and Urban Legends
There’s real academic value in tapping into local tall tales. Here’s why.
Benjamin Barbour
4 min read
People around a bonfire at night.
Denis Kvarda/iStock + Education Week
Teaching Do Students Have Too Much Homework? What Educators Have to Say
Educators on social media weigh in on homework's place in K-12 education.
1 min read
High school girl sitting at her desk at home with a notebook doing homework on her laptop.
iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion Your Students Should Be Setting Learning Goals. Tips for Teachers to Make It Happen
In her new book, educator Valerie Bolling offers tips for helping students set and carry out goals.
7 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week