Every school year, teachers across the country play a sort of game. It is mostly an activity we play alone, like solitaire. We plan lessons in units to cover roughly 180 instructional days, with the intent that learning occurs. Most tenured teachers get one to two chances to demonstrate how we play this game and […]
Laura Brown
The more I teach, the more my compassion for students, parents, and teachers grows. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
Mrs. Brown, is this World War 3?
After the holiday break, my students entered the classroom well-rested and eager to discuss current events.  I had jokingly declared that we would start a war after the break, with the understanding before the events of the assassination of the Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani, that the war we would “start” would be world war one. […]
Teaching High School In December: A Three-Point Survival Guide
For high school students, the month of December has lost its luster. There is no belief in Santa, and the elf is missing from its shelf. Replacing the holiday excitement is a mature appreciation of scarcity and disparity.  Adolescents are a blend of intellect and naivety. Their eyes are opening to a world that they […]
Why Chick-fil-A Matters in my Classroom.
It was Christmas dinner 2017, and the talk was of a new (and only) Chick-fil-A opening in our central New York area. My family endorsed the taste of their remarkable chicken and delicious drinks. Discussions of their charity and fundraisers abounded. As I listened to the conversations, I felt myself grow smaller. It was like […]
“Why haven’t I learned that Harriet Tubman fought in the civil war?”
On a cold day in central New York, I had the fantastic opportunity to take 26 students to tour the Harriet Tubman National Park, located in Auburn, NY. After an enlightening hour, we loaded onto the yellow submarine (aka the school bus) and watched the movie Harriet at the local Movie Tavern.  By the end of the […]
This Is Not A Drill: The Impact Of Our New Normal
Under the handle of my classroom door is a red button. That button allows teachers to secure their classrooms from the inside. Before the red button, teachers used their keys to lock their doors from the hallway. The mechanism protects us, but during the first lockdown of the school year, my red button fails to […]
5 Reasons To Consider Advising A Student Club
One’s teaching career often goes through seasons. A young teacher year is often more like summer, filled with energy, fun ideas, and optimism. However, more experienced teachers may begin the school year recharged only to hit a wall by the end of Autumn, plunging into a winter-like rut for the remainder of a school year. […]
Why September 11, 2001 Needs To Be Mandated Curriculum
Many of my current sophomores were not alive on the day the world stopped turning. Most of my students are fifteen-years-old — these adolescents are the post-911 generation. They know no other reality than the war on terror. And yet, they know so little about the events of that tragic day. For example, when asked, […]