In January of 2023, a 1st-grade teacher, Abigail Zwerner, was shot by her student; the bullet tore through her left hand and collapsed one of her lungs. Zwerner described the situation as a “monstrous event.” According to her statement: “He pointed the gun directly at me… I lost myself. I can’t teach again. I’ve lost […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Talk Shop Tuesdays: Ingrained Professional Development For Teachers and By Teachers
It’s a Tuesday in March 2023; twelve “staffulty” (faculty and staff, including administrators, counselors, or technology) are gathered in a classroom for professional development. The book club leader, an English teacher, looks around at us and asks, “How much do you like to be confronted? It’s maybe a 2 for me, but I think I […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Using the Depth and Complexity Framework to deepen student learning in primary grades
Using the Depth and Complexity Icons to design more meaningful learning experiences.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Scholastic faces criticism for creating separate section for BIPOC authors
Scholastic, a staple in children’s literature, has sparked controversy with its recent decision to create a separate section called “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice” for diverse titles at its Book Fairs. Each Rising Voices Library was designed for students to have access to high-interest, culturally relevant texts that celebrate the stories of the historically underrepresented. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Tough Conversations: Creating a Safe Space with Class Meetings around the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
During the past few weeks, our news feeds have become inundated with stories regarding the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Websites and news outlets update their information every few minutes, and social media has run amok with personal accounts of the atrocities of a civil war. As educators, it’s our job to help our students navigate these […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Unlocking Success: 4 Compelling Reasons to Embrace Passion-Led Learning
Passion-Led Learning: It was the middle of the second day of my professional development workshop, and I was about to dismiss my participants for a well-deserved lunch break when loud music suddenly filled the room. My head snapped toward the cacophony of sound, expecting to see a teacher embarrassingly fumbling with a cell phone that […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Banned Books Week: The Most Banned Books in 2022
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe: Gender Queer: A Memoir is a 2019 graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe’s journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author’s exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside of the gender binary. Reasons for bans: LGBTQIA+ content claimed to be sexually explicit All Boys […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Case for More Accountability: It’s Time to Blame the Parents
As you read this headline, I know you cringed- so did I as I wrote it. But as I grapple with retiring after 25 years in the classroom due to student (and parent) misbehavior, it’s something that I feel uniquely qualified to say. There will be some people who will not hear what I’m saying, […]