When President-Elect Biden announced his choice for a new secretary for education, a comment was left on the Educator’s Room blog: “Anyone from Connecticut want to weigh in?” Well, I am an educator in Connecticut, but I think weighing in on the nominee Miguel Cardona is premature. Cardona, the Connecticut Commissioner of Education, was appointed […]
Colette Bennett
Colette Marie Bennett is the Curriculum Coordinator for English Language Arts, Social Studies, Library Media, and Testing for the West Haven Public School System in West Haven, Connecticut.
Previous to this position, she served as the Chief Academic Officer (7-12) for Regional School System #6 in Litchfield, Connecticut. She has 23 years of teaching experience in English Language Arts from grades 6-12, including electives in journalism, drama, and film studies.
A graduate of the Alternate Route to Certification, Bennett also has a Masters in English from Western Connecticut State University a 6th year in Advanced Teaching and an 092 Administrative Certificate from Sacred Heart University, and graduate credits from the GLSP in Social Studies at Wesleyan University. She holds a Literacy Certification (102) from Sacred Heart University for grades K-12.
She has presented how technology is incorporated in classrooms at the Connecticut Computers in Education Conference (2010, 2012, 2014), the National Council of Teachers Annual Conference (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), and the Advanced Placement Annual Conference (2011) the Literacy for All Conference (2012), and the ICT for Language Learning in Florence, Italy (2014).
She blogs about education at Used Books in Class: http://usedbookclassroom.wordpress.com/
She tweets at Teachcmb56@twitter.com
Posted inBack to School
Still Learning from Kindergarten to Say “Yes” or “No”
I watched as 18 sweaty kindergarten students filed back into their classroom after their first-ever outdoor recess period. Some walked confidently to a seat; a few hesitated, scanning the room before finding their assigned chair. Soft music played in the dimly lit classroom, and there were some papers and crayons laid out on each table. […]
Posted inFine Arts
Toni Morrison: Spilling over the Corners of Text
The developers of the Common Core, famed for limiting student readers to the “four corners of the text,” may not have selected to teach Toni Morrison novels to high school juniors or seniors. How could those admirers of New Criticism who believe that the student should not stray from a “painstakingly crafted text” ever negotiate […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Marie Kando Your Classroom
What brought you joy last school year? That is a question teachers should ask themselves as they begin to prepare classrooms for the new school year. As they open those boxes that were stored over the summer, teachers might consider what lessons can be learned from the decluttering guru Marie Kando? More than likely, those […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
MCAS Whitehead Test Prompt-What Were They Thinking?
Lawyers often quote the adage, “Never ask a witness a question unless you know the answer.” That wisdom should have been shared with officials from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) who were forced to remove a test prompt question from the 2019 state standardized test because of complaints by Boston school […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
If They Are Choosing the Family Car, They Are Going to Want Choice in the Classroom
Know your audience! This is what marketers and educators have in common, especially as they both are focused on Generation Z (Gen Z) students, children born 1997-to the present. The one defining characteristic of Gen Z? These students (K-12) have never known a world without the internet or cell phones (mostly smartphones). For them, Google and Wi-Fi […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teachers Pay Teachers-The Fast Food of Education
At first glance, Teachers Pay Teachers, a monetized lesson plan site, appears to be a win-win offering. There are lesson plans and educational materials marketed by vendors (teachers) who make a small profit on the sale. The first win is for the teachers selling the plans. Many teachers could use the extra income from selling […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Yes, Breaking Up (with a text) is Hard to Do
It’s not you. It’s the text. It’s moving on…to another grade level. “I just don’t understand why….” you catch your breath, “it’s been the only book I liked …no, I loved… to teach.” You pause, ‘Why does it have to leave?” After all, you and the book have been together for school years. You […]