What should teachers include in their grade book? Coming from several school cultures where there is a category for everything and almost everything is graded, I notice a recurring theme. Students who typically do well continue to do so, but the students who struggle rarely find success. The fact that homework, classwork, quizzes, and tests […]
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 inClassroom Management, Featured
Hold That Pen! 5 Things to Try Before a Write-Up
Classroom management is a huge part of being an effective teacher. In many schools, administrators judge effectiveness with classroom management by the number of times you write-up a student. Aside from this fact, there are several good reasons not to write students up and send them to the office. First of all, if you write-up a student […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
Failure is not an Option: The Interactive Approach to Learning
So many articles out there lately talk about the downfalls of education and the humiliation of the public school teacher. The question is, do we have the resources out there to help those struggling students–the ones in urban areas living in poverty–to meet the same standards as their peers? If you ask my boss, the […]
Posted inFeatured, Special Education
Budget Crisis: Tips for the Overwhelmed Special Educator
How much is too much to expect from a special education teacher? Overwhelmed teachers across the country are reporting that the current budget crisis is impacting their ability to serve the students on their caseloads effectively. In many states, there is not set limit to the number of students a teacher may have on their […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Special Education
The Experts Among Us: The Value of Mentorship
My first year of teaching, I knew nothing about teaching. I had a vague concept of what teaching looked like based on television shows, movies, and books. As a lateral entry teacher, I had to study and take a test that demonstrated my understanding of child development, special education, and the tenets of teaching and learning. […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instructional Strategies
Six Common Sense Behavior Management Strategies That Really Work
No matter what grade level or subject you teach, you will always come into contact with students who either challenge your authority or disrupt the class in some way. Whether you have the student that constantly makes weird noises, the student constantly gets out of his or her seat, or the student who wants to argue […]
Posted inOpinion
10 Absolutely Spot-On Teaching Memes
They show up on your Facebook feed, you laugh, nod, and then share them with your friends. And unless they’re also teachers, they probably really don’t even get it, but they are funny if only because they are so true. That’s right. I’m talking about teaching memes. Here are ten teaching memes that are absolutely […]
Posted inESOL, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
The Four Benefits of Bilingual Education
Language is a subject matter of much controversy in our country. Are you “American” if you speak another language? Well, many of our students come from homes where the parents do not speak English, so regardless of whether or not you think all Americans should speak English, the fact remains that we are a country […]