I’ve spent a decade teaching high school English, and I can tell you exactly when a student got their first unrestricted smartphone. Not because they tell me, but because I watch it happen in real time. The attention span fragments, the anxiety spikes, and the ability to sit with difficult thoughts disappears. I’m also a […]
Cassidy Swinney
Dr. Cassidy Swinney is a dedicated educator at Jackson Academy, known for fostering student growth through engaging teaching strategies and insightful feedback. Passionate about literature, Dr. Swinney emphasizes analytical thinking and the real-world application of ideas in her classroom. Beyond her own classroom, Dr. Swinney loves reading, writing, and spending time with her family.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
AI: The New 3 Rs Reading, Writing, and Robots
Education never stands still. As an undergraduate, this constant evolution both frightened and fascinated me, especially when one of my professors challenged us to research current slang terms. Standing in front of my peers, delivering an earnest presentation on the words “basic” and “on fleek,” I initially felt ridiculous. Yet even then, I understood the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Student Discipline: If the students ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy
I remember my first classroom. It was bursting at the seams with posters, fairy lights, rugs, artwork, and anything that I could squeeze onto the walls in hopes of inspiring students to want to learn. My sweet Guinea pig students were not only dealing with me trying to find my feet as an educator, but they also had to battle the distractions they were fighting in trying to pay attention to me amongst the collage of my excitement suffocating them; on all sides!