Dear Student, I know I am not your mother, but after spending a year with you, I feel like I am. And even though it has been seven years since you sat in my class, I still feel like you are mine. I rejoiced when I saw you were going to be a father. You […]
Alice Trosclair
Alice has been teaching for fourteen years. She currently teaches English I, English III, English Language and Composition AP, and English Literature and Composition AP. She lives with her husband and son in south Louisiana. She also has hundreds of "adopted" children.
What Teachers Give Up
I am surrounded by brilliant minds every day, and while many of them are sitting in the desks in front of me, I cannot help, but be in awe of my coworkers. They are amazing. Teachers are a mixed and match collection of degrees including Bachelors, Masters, and PHDs. Most of them are parents. Some […]
The Conundrums of Teaching
Conundrum is defined as a puzzle, challenge, or enigma, and I cannot think of a better word for teaching. Teaching is a paradox, and every decision we make has an immediate impact and more often than not we wonder if we made the right decision. The Puzzle of Content. It is so unfortunate that teachers […]
I Make Students Cry
“No! You can’t do this to me!” Anyone that has taught an honors student has heard these words at least once in their teaching career. This particular student had a “B” on her report card. She plagiarized an essay and I gave her a zero. A college-bound senior knows better… or should know better. I […]
Why is He in my Class? Dealing with Difficult Students
We all have difficult students and some are more difficult than others. I have never shied away from a challenging student. I have my “projects” than I am determined to save, even they don’t want to be saved because I believe every child deserves someone who believes in him or her. I am proud to […]
Why Keeping Financial Aid for Students is Important
While everyone is feeling the strain of tighter budgets, in the government goes to public education to fill in the deficient. The first question is why is education the first budget to be cut? One is because education does not technically produce anything tangible. Another reason is the so-called idea that education is a privilege, […]
Flexibility- How Much is Too Much?
One of the most important lessons, one learns as a teacher is the importance of flexibility. Many things occur in a school setting that are beyond our control. Picture days, fire alarms, safety drills, and computer issues are a few of the events that happen in our schools so as a teacher, and one has […]
That Teacher..How A Teacher Is Remembered
Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. They come from different educational backgrounds, choose to teach at different schools, and teach at different grade levels. Just like there are so many of us, there are so many “that teachers.” That teacher could be bad, just like he or she can be good. Just like there […]