We all know that communicating with parents is essential to being an effective educator, but when the majority of your students speak a different language at home, it becomes frustrating to have to find a translator for every single phone call. I’ve also learned, after numerous confusing emails, not to completely trust Google Translate. I […]
Languages
Posted inEnglish Language Learners, ESOL, Languages, Literacy, The International Teacher, Uncategorized
International Mother Language Day-February 21st
By the time you read this article, International Mother Language Day may have or may not have already come and gone, but in case you didn’t even realize it was a day to celebrate, let me enlighten you! Mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women […]
Posted inCommon Core, Educational Apps, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, Literacy, Middle School
Four Reasons Why I'm In Love With Chromebooks In The Classroom
I cannot deny it any longer – I’m in love with Chromebooks. Chromebooks have transformed my teaching. All those times in the last 25 years when I used to say, “Well, that would be easy if I had a class set of computers” has turned into my reality. Chromebooks have become a wonderful tool for […]
Posted inElementary School, English Language Learners, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, The International Teacher
Diaries of an English Teaching Assistant in Taiwan: Christmas is Love in Action
During the writing workshop that I facilitated last Friday, a participant shared with me that she’d almost committed suicide, but that one of her best friends had helped her out of depression to find happiness. To this day, Macy (name given to protect her identity) is determined to become a social worker, so that […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, Opinion
My Experience with TNCore – the Tennessee State Standards
Tennessee’s State Department of Education adopted standards labeled TNCore, modeled after the controversial Common Core. As an English and Language Arts (ELA) teacher of nine years, I would like to share my experiences with these standards at the high school level. Common Core (CC) was created with good intentions. Its creators wanted to ensure that […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Featured, Languages
For The Love Of Latin: Promising Apps for Latin Teachers In and Out of the Classroom
I have not taught Latin for three years so when I was asked one week before the start of this school year to add Latin to my full load of high school Literature classes I felt a bit overwhelmed. In addition, I was told the class consisted of middle school students whose abilities ranged from […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Languages
Tips for Choosing a Novel to Study
Teaching literature can be rewarding. Sadly, it’s an activity that can fall by the wayside as teachers weigh other standards, but it need not to for the sake of our society.  Already very few students in their early teens read daily as cited by Nancie Atwell. While we cannot ensure that our students read every […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, English Language Learners, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, New Teacher Bootcamp, The New Teacher Chronicles
Advice for New ESOL Teachers: Communicating with Home
By: Jon Hardy Dealing with parents is a very intimidating part of being a new teacher and the normal hurdles are intensified with parents who don’t speak English, or who are learning English themselves. These families may need teachers to put in extra effort to reach out to students but be unsure how to ask […]