Reading the News One of the things I love most about teaching English is the broad range of source material I can pull from. I love lesson planning and I dislike being bored, so my teaching is constantly in flux. My students read novels, analyze popular song lyrics, write poetry, watch Ted Talks, and everything […]
teaching and learning
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Getting Reading Right: The Education Week Online Summit
Getting Reading Right was the title and focus of the free online Education Week summit held on January 28, 2020. EdWeek reporters moderated with guest literacy specialists in six separate online chats framed by the results of the 2019 EdWeek Research Center survey on Early Reading Instruction. Online registered participants were eligible for a certificate […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Getting Children to Understand The Value of Teaching Shakespeare
Every year, I get to the part in my high school curriculum where I start to introduce Shakespeare’s Macbeth. And every year, the students complain. “Why do we have to read this?” “What’s even the point of Shakespeare?” “I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now.” “What is this?!” And every year, I tell them […]
Posted inHigh School
Reading Groups, A Valuable Tool
As teachers, we are always trying to get our students to read more. Reading is important in helping our students grow as critical thinkers and expanding their view of the world around them. However, at times, it can be difficult for students to choose their own books. Some students struggle to get into any book […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The High Expectations Myth
The high expectations myth is a pernicious, insidious mantra. It is the notion that if I, as a teacher, say and believe I hold high expectations, it is magically true. Examining actual teaching practices is neither necessary nor worthwhile. I have better things to do. Change or growth or flexibility aren’t needed. It is the […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Exploring Non-Traditional Education in the Classroom
Why do we have to read The Sea Wolf? William Shakespeare is dead, what does he have to do with us? These are all common problems in any class in 2018-, especially for a newer teacher. Before I began teaching in the classroom setting, I worked in non-traditional education. Non-traditional education is learning through different methods, […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
The New Teacher Chronicles: The Benefits of Cross-Curricular Education
With the school year beginning to wind down, I’ve been thinking of new ways to improve and update my curriculum for next year. What are some things that worked really well, and what are some things that I want to update? This got me thinking of ways to make my lessons even more hands-on and […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
The Writing Gap: Why a Renaissance in Writing Instruction is Imperative
“Appositive?” “What is an appositive?” “Is that even a word?” These were snippets of conversations overheard in a teacher’s book study at Liverpool High School, a large, suburban school north of Syracuse, NY. The assembled teachers, from a variety of disciplines including World Languages, English, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics and Special Education, comprise a group studying […]