A fight breaks out near the gym entrance at the large, suburban high school where I teach. I see members of the Step Team that I advise walking from that direction and my heart sinks. I send up a quiet prayer. Please, don’t let one of my kids be involved. The upperclassmen on the team show […]
Laura Brown
The more I teach, the more my compassion for students, parents, and teachers grows. Thank you for reading my thoughts.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Principal: Cancel That Honor Roll Assembly!
Remember those bumper stickers that seemed all the rage in the nineties: “My son is an Honor Roll Student at Pleasant Valley Middle School?” Or, maybe you chuckled at the inappropriate bumper sticker that read: “My kid can beat up your honor roll student?” Or, perhaps you have seen posts on social media by proud […]
Posted inEducational Apps
Gratefully Addicted to Remind.com
Do you use Remind? I am currently enrolled in fourteen Remind groups. Fourteen may sound excessive, but I am grateful for each membership because it has increased my connection to my students and my children’s school life. In case you are unfamiliar with my favorite technology, please allow me to explain. The Remind App is […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Water those marigolds! Watch those experienced educators bloom!
In 2003, I made a career leap by changing school districts. I had been in a comfortable position, with eight years teaching middle school social studies in a wealthy suburban school. However, I needed a change. I did not want to teach in a single classroom, in one building, investigating a particular topic for thirty-four […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
American Teachers: Take Off Your Identification Badges; Take Back Your School!
I began my teaching career in 1995. I had no experience with school resource officers, exterior doors at most schools were unlocked during the day, and metal detectors were used only in extreme cases. Then on April 20, 1999, the Columbine tragedy changed the conversation about the nature of schools and about the youth of America. The perpetrators […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why is The Positivity Project Making My Kids So Negative?
Have you heard about the Positivity Project, sometimes referred to as “P2?” Maybe you have seen the hashtag:Â #OtherPeopleMatter? Or possibly you have seen an adult or child wearing a green shirt or hat with the positivity project logo? The Positivity Project, started by two West Point-trained military veterans, was not initially about schools, but […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
When Tariffs Impact Schools
“Is the faculty meeting in the cafeteria, or the auditorium?” I ask two of my colleagues, who both give me smiles filled with bemusement. “We don’t have an auditorium,” comes the reply followed by a resentful chuckle. How could I forget that the auditorium is no longer operational and that an entire wing of a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Do You Want Me To Carry a Gun? Teaching in a Time of Lockdowns…
“Do you want me to carry a gun?” The controversial question I ask my students the day we return after the mid-winter break. The responses vary each class block. Some kids, say “yes,” others giggle. Most shake their heads negatively. Each of my four sections of sophomore-level Global History is distinct in their desire to […]