Walking past the teacher break room, I peer in and see platters of sweet treats, both homemade and store-bought intended to show love and appreciation for hard-working teachers. It is lovely, really. Administrators and parents took the time and effort to bring these treats into school to celebrate our hard work and welcome us back […]
Katie Garner
Katie Garner is a middle school teacher in Huntington Beach, California. She teaches English Language Arts and Social Studies for 6th and 7th grade.
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Teaching the “I Can’t” Student
People are raised hearing all kinds of information about themselves from those around them. From a young age, we overhear the conversations our parents have about how great we are at sports, how academically gifted we are, or the kinds of things we struggle with. This constant narration of our strengths and downfalls begins to […]
Posted inTeacher Burnout
Fitting in Fitness as a Teacher..Can It Be Done?
Teaching requires an exorbitant amount of energy. Each day we face classroom management, grading, lesson planning, parent communication, and faculty meetings, so it’s hard to imagine squeezing anything else into our jam-packed schedule. Not to mention, going home and relaxing for thirty minutes sounds a lot more appealing that heading into a sweaty gym full […]
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Learning to See Through Fine Arts
In high school, I was taught how to see. The best art teacher I have ever had stood in front of the class and gave us the simplest explanation as to why our drawings and paintings did not look lifelike. The images being recorded on our pages were symbols of what we thought pictures should […]