Ability Grouping in Physical Education?
An article in the Chicago Tribune caught my attention this week regarding “Fat P.E.” At least that is what the kids at a suburban Illinois high school call it. Basically, the students are ability grouped according to results obtained in fitness … [Continue Reading...]
Letterman’s Top Ten Tribute to Teachers Needs More than Teach for America
Tributes for teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week are appreciated coming just as the school year comes to a close, when very tired teachers are looking back to see student progress over the past eight months. Many of the tributes are touching, and some … [Continue Reading...]
Endings and Beginnings
As the school year ends for so many of us in the next few weeks, it is easy to be caught up in business of grading final assignments, attending end-of-year assemblies, finally cleaning out our classrooms (do we really need to keep all those paper towels tubes … [Continue Reading...]
Teacher Appreciation Week—Valuable Gifts
A valuable is something of great worth. Each day you send your most valuable possession off to school. You entrust them to the educational system and the teachers there. Teaching is a unique profession. Teachers give of themselves, their time, and … [Continue Reading...]
Letterman’s Top Ten Tribute to Teachers Needs More than Teach for America
Tributes for teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week are appreciated coming just as the school year comes to a close, when very tired teachers are looking back to see student progress over the past eight months. Many of the tributes are touching, and some … [Continue Reading...]
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5 Reasons You Should Write for Us!
Here at The Educator’s Room, we’re always looking for fresh perspectives and dynamic writing. We also know that the best writers in the country are our educators! We would love you to write for us! When (not “if!”) you decide to submit an article, just send it to our Assignment Editor at info@theeducatorsroom.com. You can [...]
The Absent Teacher
OK. Can I just rant a minute? I totally understand that teachers are people too. We have normal lives that involve doctor’s appointments, our own sick kids, funerals and professional development conferences during the school day. I get this. But what about that ONE teacher who we all know that seems to have unending amounts [...]
Five Lessons For Everyone Who Works in Education for a Living
The dvd cover of the 1992 film Glengarry Glen Ross has the following tagline: “A story for everyone who works for a living.” Though the film is about a tumultuous weekend in the lives of a handful of real estate salesmen, there’s a lot in there that I took to my job as a teacher. [...]
Part 3: What’s The Word? Decoding Skills in Reading
To teach your students to read you must know where they are. It is important to understand their current instructional reading level (accuracy and comprehension combined) as well as their fluency level. If you are unsure how to test your students and gather this data, check out my recent article, “See Jane Read.” Students below [...]
32 Qualities of Effective Educators
I revisited my roots a bit this week by putting myself in a new teacher’s shoes and looking at the “Pennsylvania Standard Teaching Application.” On the very last page of the application, there are 3 essay choices. I was immediately drawn to one that asked, “What are the qualities of an effective educator?” I challenged [...]
Testing Time is Here in P.E., Too!
Many Physical Educators are now in the midst of their physical fitness tests across the nation. Just like classroom teachers, we need to do a “pre” and “post” assessment in order to not only evaluate our students, but also our planning and classroom strategies used throughout the year. Part of the testing process has to [...]
The First Amendment and Student Dress Codes
The implementation of student dress codes has increased over the past decade. The essence of the dress codes vary in reach. Some codes mandate specific uniforms, such as khaki or navy pants with a specific color polo or oxford shirt. Other codes ban specific items, such as flip-flops, midriffs, clothing with particular symbols, or clothing [...]
Interactive Student Notebooks – My Mathematical Lifesaver
Taking notes has always been the downfall of many of my students. They can copy what is on the board, but sometimes it is just not organized or even legible. Many students will just jot down the numbers, not writing down any part of the discussion or copying anything given during instruction. The students that [...]
Almost Free Math Games: Teaching with a Deck of Cards!
Time and money, two things of which we are forever short in education. While I can’t help you find more time, this is about inexpensive, almost free, math games. I love when I find every day, simple objects that can be used multiple ways. In my classroom it is a simple deck of cards. You [...]
NGLB – No Gifted Left Behind
Education has taken a major swing in the last five years with its new focus on the Response to Intervention movement. Through the RtI program, students that are in the bottom 20% of their class are to receive Tier I interventions in their regular education classroom. While many resources define this as differentiated instruction, many [...]
Administrators, Listen to Your Teachers Before Assigning Classes
I do not pretend that I can fulfill the role of an administrator. In fact, I have no desire to become an administrator – I do not want that kind of stress. I respect those who effectively transition to the part; we need you! Instead, I would like to offer some advice to administrators that [...]
When Your School Doesn’t Have An Art Class
I consider myself very lucky. Growing up, I had art every week. Unfortunately, that is hardly the case anymore. Between rubrics and budget cuts, students no longer have that necessary creative outlet readily available. Art is easily added into any classroom and to any lesson, as long as you have the confidence and knowledge to [...]
Ramblings of a Betrayed Teacher
I feel betrayed. Hurt. Education has betrayed me and hurt me. It has turned on me like a rabid dog in the noonday sun on the hottest day in July. I thought that I was valued as a part of this great institution called “education.” Even before I became a teacher, I knew the value [...]
What Frustrates Me About Non-Public Schools
This article is published simultaneously with its partner article, “What Bothers Me About Public Schools“ Let me preface this article by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form opposed to private or charter schools. There’s a school for every child on this planet, and for some students, it’s not a public [...]
Profanity: Putting F.U.N. back in the discussion of F.U.
It seems, as of late that profanity is used excessively in schools without reservation. Students swear so comfortably, so often that they often pepper classroom responses with many four letter favorites. Maybe I have become old fashioned but the argument that the “f” word is a reasonable noun, verb, an adverb and an adjective has [...]
The Deafening Silence of Teachers
As Americans we have always been taught that one of the greatest things about being an American Citizen is that we are protected by the First Amendment in the United States Constitution. We pride ourselves with having the ability to speak without fear of retribution and to make sure if injustices are occurring, we have the ability [...]
Race DOES Matter
When it comes to my job, there are very few things that bother me. However, the one thing that does is the reality that within my district, I am the ONLY African American teacher in any of our high schools (our district has 2 high schools). I am always reminded of this whenever students come [...]
{The Educator’s Room Annual Conference} Call For Proposals Now Open!
Are you interested in presenting at our first annual conference? Can you recall the path that led you to become a teacher? Do you demonstrate your expertise and encourage fellow educators to do the same? If so, please head over to our “Call for Presenters” section and enter your proposal for our first conference in [...]
We Believe: An Open Letter on Behalf of Every Teacher
Many Americans live in an era where their jobs present new daily challenges: so many of us are expected to do more with less; others feel underpaid and overworked, while many wish the government would get out of their profession. We take heat when we don’t perform, and we go home soured by the work [...]
Why the Business Model Is Not the Education Model
Educational reform is on the minds of many business leaders and several leaders have weighed in with their concerns: “We know we are facing a transition, and we must take this opportunity to provide today’s students with the tools and the thinking that is required for the future” ( John Chambers, Cisco Systems). “….our high schools [...]
{Strategies From A Veteran Teacher} 7 Strategies Parents Should Do Daily To Help Their Kids Be Successful in School!
Parenting is the toughest job on the planet. I have read many articles, magazines, blogs and stories about parenting. It has been compared to dressing a squid, entertaining a wolverine, or feeding an army. I am lucky to be able to use my professional knowledge to help me lead my parenting endeavors. I am far [...]
They’re Not Digital Natives, They’re Digital Tourists!
To all those who claim that all students today are digital “natives,” I beg to disagree. Digital natives are defined as those people who have grown-up using technology daily beginning in the 1960s, but the term is more commonly used to describe those born in the 21st Century. According to the PBS Frontline Website, Digital Natives aged [...]
The Educator’s Room Marketplace: List Your Resource and Reach Thousands of Educators!
In this era it’s common for educators to also be authors, consultants and even product developers. If you have a resource available that is marketed toward fellow educators, we’re giving you the chance to list your resource on The Educator’s Room Marketplace. Read on to find out why this is such a big deal: [...]
The Journey of An Unemployed Teacher: A Shock to the System!
I mentioned last week that there have been over 350,000 teaching job losses since 2009. Usually the story of education job cuts stops there. But what really happens once the decision to cut is made? Every state in the union has districts that have experienced a massive shock to their system through a Reduction [...]
The “No Excuses” Parent
By writing an article entitled “The Exhaustion of the American Teacher” recently, I unwittingly unleashed a torrent of competing emotions. With 81,000 Facebook “likes” and scores of supportive comments from teachers and their loved ones, the text and tenor of the piece found a receptive audience. At the same time, several of the comments—from both [...]
When Teachers Leave the Profession: Is It Time to Make a Change?
Ok!! So you’re fed up! You just can’t take anymore! Your season has ended, you’re bored with the job or no longer feel challenged, the kids are too difficult, or you just need a change….Whatever the reason, whatever the rhyme, you’re ready to leave teaching and do something different. It’s time to explore the options! [...]
Do You Know a Stellar Educator? If So, Nominate Them!
So many times quality educators are ignored for the vast and important contributions to both and the classrooms and the schools in which they serve. In order to recognize all their contributions, The Educator’s Room is selecting one educator a week to highlight. In order to nominate an educator of your choice, please fill out [...]
The Exhaustion of the American Teacher
With the 2012-2013 American school year still in its infancy, it’s worthwhile to note that the people doing the actual educating are down in the dumps. Many feel more beaten down this year than last. Some are walking into their classrooms unsure if this is still the job for them. Their hearts ache with a [...]
Pulling Back the Curtain: You Can’t Save Them All…
In my previous article I recapped a bit of my history in education, but mainly I drew attention to the fact that educator’s as a whole leave college largely unprepared for what truly lies ahead of them. With the articles that are to follow in this column, I hope to bring to pull the curtain [...]
What We Forgot From School
My improv troupe has been going through a time of transition. When I came back this summer after my school hiatus, there were a lot of new faces and a few old ones – and things had changed, not necessarily for the better. Every group goes through highs and lows. The first time I was [...]
John D. – Our Stellar Educator of the Week!
Name: John D. School District: Anaheim Union High School District Years Teaching: 10+ years Specialty: English Language Arts Congratulations to John D., our Stellar Educator of the Week! John was nominated by a colleague who started by using three main words to describe John: Selfless. Honorable. Inspiring. Here’s what else his colleague had to say [...]
I Matter (And So Do You)
Second semester, I believe, is the worst semester for teachers. Second semester is the time when we reflect upon first semester and what we did and did not accomplish. We look at what we taught and have left to teach. Second semester is the time for high absenteeism due to illness and all high stakes [...]
Taking Charge of Our Own Profession – Part 2: A New Model
In Part 1, I introduced the idea that it is time to consider a new professional model for education. In this Part 2, I offer some ideas of how we might begin this task. Highly skilled educators who have been in the field for many years are now publicly resigning with harsh words for the [...]
Opinion: So 9 Year Olds Can Beat Up Toddlers?
I had to put in my two cents about a recent video that was posted. A 9 year old boy was put in a room with toddlers at a day care in Vicksburg, MS. When the supervising staff member wasn’t paying attention, the boy proceeded to hit, choke, or kick various toddlers in the room. [...]
