A recent PDK poll shows that 82% of Americans support job-skills classes, even if it’s at the expense of academic classes. Additionally, 86% believe schools should offer certificate / licensing programs that lead to jobs. But they’re forgetting one very big thing: this type of education already exists. It’s just that everybody forgets vocational-technical training. And […]
Jake Miller
Mr. Jake Miller is the 2016 National History Day Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year, a 2017 NEA Global Fellow to China, and a former candidate for county-wide office. Miller has written more than 500 articles, most of which have appeared on The Educator's Room. He's the opening contributor to TER's book When the Fire Is Gone. Learn more about Jake at www.MrJakeMiller.com
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Teaching in a Post-Union World
The week before school begins, our education association is fortunate enough to sit down with the new educators hired in our district and encourage them to sign-up for our association. While this seemed pretty cut-and-dry when I was first hired 10 years ago, the discussion has rapidly changed and the difficulty increased. As more educators […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Teachers Fueled by Student Success
I had a student observer this past spring who asked me “how we do it?” She wanted to know how, in spite of all the stuff thrown our way – the attacks on the profession, the teachers, the union, the pension, the lifestyle, the politics, the “part-time worker” status, the lack of results – and […]
Posted inFeatured
The Traveling Teacher: China, Part II – Xi’an and Shanghai
In the part 1 of this 2-part series, I shared what it was like to visit Beijing. Before I attempt to write my way through the ancient capital of Xi’an and the ultra-modern Shanghai, you may want to give the previous article a bit of your time. Day 5: Xi’an City Walls and Massage Biking […]
Posted inThe Traveling Teacher
The Traveling Teacher: China, Part I – Beijing
Ever since I proposed to my wife, I’ve dreamed of going to China. I’d wanted to visit there so badly that I even – get this – floated the idea of having our honeymoon there. So when the NEA Foundation awarded me with the Teacher of Excellence and Global Fellowship Awards and invited 49 other […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Attention Right-Wing: Teachers Aren’t Promoting an Anti-American Agenda
On the eve of Independence Day, columnist Charles Krauthammer appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and stated that a waning pride in America is largely because “we teach our children about all the pathologies in the United States and very little about the glories.” To be fair, as Carlson acknowledged this precipitous drop in […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Why Teachers Should Add Debate to Their Curriculum
At the end of the school year this year, I looked at the list of causes of the Civil War. I’ve taught this once or twice, usually with just enough time to explain them. However, this year I finally got my curriculum in check and had time to ensure these topics were taught right. So […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Middle School, Opinion, Parents
Teacher Awards Student “Most Likely to Become A Terrorist”
Like many students at the end of the school term, Lizeth Villanueva brought home a superlative from one of her teachers. However, when her mom further examined the award, CNN reports, she saw that it said “MOST LIKELY TO BECOME A TERRORIST.” Seriously. Villanueva, a 13-year-old 7th-grade student at Lance Cpl. Anthony Aguirre Junior High […]