Differentiation is the one word in education that make the most subdued educators scream out in pain. Principals use it in evaluations like it’s going out of style, and content specialists talk about it like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Meanwhile, educators maintain intense fear when the word “differentiation” is uttered in conversation because […]
Teresa
Teresa Cooper is a 30-something divorced mom and teacher from North Carolina. She has a Masters of Science in Education for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment from Walden University and a BA in Psychology with a minor in Creative from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Having struggled with anxiety and depression most of her life and later having birthed a child with autism, she is passionate about spreading awareness and acceptance of mental illness and autism. After 13 years in education, she has a wealth of knowledge to share on education and bonding with children.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Special Education
Making it Interesting: 5 Easy Ways to Differentiate Processes
All students have different interests, and the fact remains that most students are not interested in worksheets about math, language arts, science, and social studies. Think back to when you were in school and the best lesson you’ve ever been taught by a teacher. What made that lesson stand out to you? Was it the […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Three Things that Make Me Tired About Teaching
I have always loved learning. Not the sit in a desk and absorb everything from a lecture, but hands-on interactive discussion that is true learning. In my 19 years of education, I have seen three things that slowly are breaking down our education system. These three things make me exhausted each day before I even […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines
Teaching With Fibromyalgia: When You’re Too Tired to Move
The teaching profession, as all us teachers know, is exhausting most days. You do things like greet students happily, come up with engaging lessons, put students in collaborative groups, deal with sassy students without losing composure, prevent students from getting into fights, go to meetings that last an hour or more, handle student behaviors during […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines
Teaching With Fibromyalgia: When You're Too Tired to Move
Sometimes I wake up exhausted and so sore that I feel as if I lifted a thousand weights the day before. The exhaustion alone makes it difficult to get out of bed, but the pain really makes it difficult to move. After hitting the snooze button three times, I get up and get myself and […]
Posted inUncategorized
A Teacher-Parent Perspective on Behavior Challenges
I am a teacher-parent and an autism mom. I know first hand that special education teachers have a tough job, but I also know that parents of children who exhibit difficult behaviors do too. When you add the complexity of teaching and parenting a child with autism, sometimes you feel a little lost. How much […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Opinion
The Counter-Productivity of the Testing Mentality
The other day, I came to team planning with some really great exploration activities and math tasks for students to use to deepen their understanding of the concepts we were learning in class. As the person who writes the formal lesson plans for our department and a graduate student, I take my job seriously, and […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
How to Stop Girl Bullying in the Classroom
“Stop putting your hot breath on me,” one girl yells from the back of the classroom. It’s the same boy targeted every single time, and it seems that no matter where you move him, there’s a problem. At first you think he’s doing something to upset people because you never catch anyone else doing anything. […]