We all know that the best way to manage the classroom is to create a positive, structured environment. That’s an adorable concept — but it is downright difficult to figure out what the heck that positive, structured environment ought to constitute. We learn a handful of suggestions in Teacher School; but in practice, these suggestions […]
Dana Dooley
Dana Dooley teaches high school AP Government, Government & Economics, and Yearbook near Sacramento, Calif. As a former journalist and graduate student, Dooley is a super policy nerd and fascinated with political theory. She's won some teacher awards, and she loves her students immensely as family.
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Why you need a Classroom Mission Statement
A mission statement. The best businesses use them to guide direction and lead to success. Our classrooms are definitely not businesses — but I believe, like in business, that a classroom mission statement can lead us and our students toward a clear outcome, guided by a defined purpose. I’ve created a teaching philosophy before. I’ve […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Not My Secretary of Ed (Why the butt that Occupies the Federal Seat Matters to my Classroom)
There is a difference between “government” and “politics.” The former regards the design of a specific seat in our system; what power is vested in it, and what checks balance that power. The latter regards what butt happens to occupy that seat at a specific time. The butts change, typically per Presidential administration, but […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
CA politician discusses willful defiance, educational priorities
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Recently California Governor Jerry Brown signed in to law AB 420, which limits suspensions and expulsions due to willful defiance in K-12. Last week I had the opportunity to sit down […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Uncategorized
Teacher-Saving Web Tools, Part I: Differentiate reading news with Newsela and Readability
Reading skills are critical to teach our students – but it’s such a stressor to find relevant, newsworthy materials that ALSO hit a variety of reading levels and ALSO are free of all the advertisements, sidebars, and distractions. I’ve spent (wasted) so much time adapting articles myself and copy-and-pasting them into Word docs so that […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
CA Bill Addresses Suspensions and Expulsions
Millions of students get suspended from school every year – and it is mostly students of color. According to the US Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 16% of black students are suspended every year, compared to 5% of white students. When a student is suspended, he or she falls further behind in school, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Teaching Ferguson: Resources for High School
We cannot help but return to school with heavy hearts and confused minds over the events that took place early last month in Ferguson, Missouri. And yet we should not be silent about it in the classroom – for the good that can come out of this is the opportunity to demonstrate for students the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, From the Front Lines, High School, Uncategorized
Meet the Parents: A Young Teacher’s Back to School Night
When people find out I teach high school, they often reply with some surprise, “but you look like a high school student yourself!” I sigh, they tell me I’ll be thankful for my youthful appearance as I get older, and we move on – but through these interactions, I am constantly reminded of the additional […]