It was Wednesday 3/11/26; half-day for the kids, but not the adults. We got the word that we were to meet in the auditorium at 11:45, and the meeting was mandatory. The departments filed in, knowing that something was up, but unsure what the problem could be, “Maybe, it’s the lock-in/lock-out we had the other […]
T.S. Carney
T.S. Carney is a special education teacher. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Good Men Project, Your Impossible Voice, Eunoia Review, Neon Origami, Discretionary Love, The Gotham Guillotine, tongue etc, Maudlin House, Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts, Once Upon a Crocodile, FLARE, Robot Butt, miniMAG, Philosophy Now, Philosophy and Literature, The Educator's Workroom, Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, Bridge Eight and elsewhere
Posted inElementary School
Cincinnatus: A lesson in administrative leadership
I have been engrossed in Ancient Roman history – not just the early Caesars with Tacitus, but with the Early Republic. And in reading, you can see the parallels between those leaders and administrators. Probably one of the best leaders – I should clarify, selfless leaders were Cincinnatus, the Roman Dictator (which should be noted […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Journey to the Ouibette: My New Promotion
If you have read me, or have been reading me, or if this is the first time you’re reading me, then you have/or now will see that I can be deeply cynical, sardonic, and throw jokes under the radar that you might not catch unless you’re listening. One thing that is not any of those […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
On the ethics of properly grading students
I wanted to take a break from my usual cynical storytelling — don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of that — and address a very serious concern: an ethical, and yes, existential question (despite how overused that word has become) about student grading. I work as a special education teacher in an urban public high school […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
You Won the Race”: A health class euphemism, reimagined
I generally dislike teacher stories marketed as “based on a true story.” They’re always cleaned up, sanded down, and weaponized for sentimentality. So here’s something that actually happened on Friday: exactly as it happened, with no moral pre-installed. I teach special education English in an urban high school in the Northeast. First period. A self-contained […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
I Thought Using Lysol Was Against the Hague Convention
It was Monday. As usual, we were sitting in the conference room. The room overlooked the football field. Kids hopped the fence and cut through the graveyard behind the school. I sipped my coffee and smirked. I wondered why a boy and a girl were going to the graveyard so early. Smoking? Vaping? Then the […]