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I’ve watched plenty of Marvel movies and read plenty of comics with my kids before we returned to school just a few weeks ago. As a teacher, it was great to feel like an Avenger as appreciative and supportive words from parents, school board members, and, most notably students countered the inane, ignorant comments we’ve gotten used to the past decade or so. Read more here...
As we continue to grapple with the changes that are impacting our communities, school reopening plans are at the forefront of most conversations. It is not hard to recognize that most everyone is flying by the seat of their pants as decisions are made and unmade with little notice… Read more here.
As schools across the country grapple with implementing online instruction, conversations about the future of education abound. So, it was no surprise when my buddy sent me this podcast: How To Test Out of College While You’re Still in High School. To read more, click here.
The dark circles under my eyes have returned. The fatigue is deep and familiar–it feels like January tired. And, today is only my third day of teaching in the hybrid model! My husband asked me how the first day went. I replied: “It was not my best opening day.” …Read more.
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So, How Is [COVID] School Going?
I have fielded this question from family, friends, and neighbors. It is a simple question. I have been teaching social studies for over twenty-five years, so I should offer a concise answer. However, the question [...]
Top of the List: Attuning to Self-Care Needs of Educators
Written by Camica Edwards Another day at the office, I am consulting with my principal on a plan for student mental health and wellness as the junior high school counselor. I’m in his doorway scanning [...]
Accountability and Empathy: Where’s the Balance?
Accountability and Empathy: Where's the Balance? Pandemic Adjustments I went into this year knowing online learning would be tough. I zoomed in with my equity lens and kept it sharply focused, ready to make adjustments [...]
Zooming into the Abyss: The VANISHING AMERICAN STUDENT
The students have begun to disappear. In the beginning of the school year, when class began every day, I was greeted with a friendly mosaic of smiling teenage faces. This was the beginning of their [...]
Return to Panem:Teaching Possibilities with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
When the original Hunger Games series was released, with its conclusion published in 2010, I was busy teaching 8th grade English at a suburban/rural middle school in Tennessee. I immediately saw possibilities in the book [...]
The 5 Stages of Grief Pandemic Style
This morning I attended a virtual conference on Teacher Self Care presented by the Educator’s Room. First of all, this was so nice to be connected with like-minded people and not feel isolated for a [...]
Teachers: Stop What You’re Doing
To my fellow teachers: Stop what you’re doing. Whatever it is, stop. Following up with families whose kids aren’t joining your Zoom calls, providing feedback to students’ work, watching a webinar on Social Emotional Learning, [...]
Potential and the Classroom: The Power of the Exchange
As teachers, we interact with kids constantly that we often forget exchanges we’ve had. To many of our students, those exchanges are things they have clung to in their time of need or seen as [...]
The Importance of Feedback in Distance Learning
Who would have thought that we would be in the middle of a pandemic, and education would change so drastically in a matter of months? It has been a wild ride, at least for me. [...]
The Power of Language: Presidential Debate Edition
I try to teach my students that language has power. There are many unfortunate classroom moments when teenagers colloquially use words they shouldn’t. Often, after saying something derogatory, students will immediately look at me and [...]
Teaching with Integrity: “Politics” in English Class.
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 [...]
No More COVID-10 Aid Until After I Win, Trump Declares
In true fashion, Donald Trump took to Twitter today to let the world know that a new Coronavirus relief package wouldn't come until after the November 3rd election. This decision has the possibility of being [...]
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What are we reading?
Was Someone Actually High When They Proposed The Hybrid Teaching Model?
The Importance of Understanding Child Development
Teaching in 2020: Where Everyone Gets a Choice, Except Teachers
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Create Your Destiny for 2020