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

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
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI in Schools: What 1,000 Districts Reveal About Readiness and Risk
Move beyond “ban vs. embrace” with real-world AI data and practical guidance for a balanced, responsible district policy.
Content provided by Securly
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
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
K-12 Lens 2026: What New Staffing Data Reveals About District Operations
Explore national survey findings and hear how districts are navigating staffing changes that affect daily operations, workload, and planning.
Content provided by Frontline Education
Education Funding Webinar Congress Approved Next Year’s Federal School Funding. What’s Next?
Congress passed the budget, but uncertainty remains. Experts explain what districts should expect from federal education policy next.

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 I’m Iranian American. Here’s What I Want Educators to Understand About the War
Understanding Iran requires holding multiple truths at once, writes education reformer Nina S. Rees.
Nina S. Rees
5 min read
Tehran, Iran, 06.24.2023: Golestan Palace details
The Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tehran, was damaged by an Israeli airstike earlier this month, according to media reports.
S. Kahraman/iStock
Teaching Opinion How Teachers Are Solving Classroom Problems by Doing Their Own Research
Educators share how they are using their own data and self-reflection to support their students.

11 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 Student Agency Inspires Learning. Here Are 8 Ways to Foster It
Teachers must shift their mindset from dictating rules to co-creating agreements with students.
8 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 Homework: Critical Practice or Meaningless Busywork? Teachers Weigh In
Does homework still have a purpose? The K-12 field appears deeply divided.
1 min read
ionCINCINNATI, OHIO - AUGUST 21, 2025 A student wears a translucent backpack while waiting to ride Metro, Cincinnati’s public bus system, to their second day of school on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Luke Sharrett for Education Week
Educators have really different opinions about whether students get too much or too little homework, and what role it plays in learning. A student wears a translucent backpack while waiting to Cincinnati’s public bus system, on Aug. 21, 2025 in Ohio.
Luke Sharrett for Education Week