Last summer, I attended an educators’ conference focused on building a positive climate and culture in schools. The conference offered a variety of break-out sessions addressing topics such as engagement, retention, cultural competency, and relationship-building. What are home visits? I quickly noticed “home visits” as a commonly discussed practice at the conference: educators visiting the […]
Sylvia Denice
Sylvia Denice started her teaching career as an upper-elementary teacher and is now a middle school special educator in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Posted inSpecial Education
Special Educator: What She Is and What She Isn’t
I graduated from with college dual licensure and degrees in elementary education and special education. This qualifies me to teach all subject areas grades K through 6 and special education grades Pre-K through 12. Inclusivity was and remains a strong value of mine. I felt a calling to incorporating my knowledge of special education as […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Vote for the Voteless: Off-Year Elections Do Matter
When I was in fourth grade, my class participated in the Center for Civic Education’s Project Citizen Program. Groups of students “identify a public policy problem in their community. They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a political action plan to […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way: When I Knew To Look For Something New
I knew I wanted to be a teacher in my Junior year of high school. This goal drove every one of my academic moves. The strengths of Education programs rooted in my college search. I sought summer jobs and extra-curricular activities imitating teacher-like roles. My holiday breaks volunteering with teachers: grading, organizing, decorating, and planning. […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
Teachers Modeling Friendship
I teach in the same building as my cooperating teacher from my student teaching placement in college. Mrs. Burcham taught me everything I know and apply today working as a Special Education teacher. Since I graduated, Mrs. Burcham and I have become colleagues by chance, friends by choice. We check in on each other during […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The Teacher Triangle: Mindful Balance
It was Welcome Week my first year of college. The student orientation leader shared the “College Triangle” with the group of bug-eyed freshmen before leading us to a campus-sponsored comedy event. The “College Triangle” is a popular analogy used to prepare students for the sacrifices and decisions they will face when working to balance college […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: The Neuroscience Behind Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Mister Rogers and his philosophy of loving our neighbors as they are has gained momentum over the past year, especially since the release of the biographical documentary film Won’t You Be My Neighbor? in 2018. What’s more, the trailer for the film “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers was […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why Your School Doesn’t Need to Adopt a “Social-Emotional Curriculum”
Curriculum adoption is a persistent conversation education. Schools and districts continuously evaluate new programs and texts to best support teaching and learning. School districts adopt curriculums often on a predetermined, cyclical timeline. Veterans teaching the same grade levels or subject areas for decades are learning new practices and methods, regardless of their history of student […]