Erika Bailey I graduated with a bachelor’s in history and a master’s in secondary education. I was a math interventionist for elementary and an afterschool program instructor before transitioning to a high school social studies teacher. During my tenure, I also worked as the choreographer for the drama club. Currently, I am pursuing higher education […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
On Feeling Flat: Teachers in 2021
Bridgette Gallagher is a high school English teacher in Saratoga Springs, NY where she has worked for the past 20 years teaching grades 9,11, and Creative Writing. In addition to being a teacher leader, she also serves as the Vice President of Secondary for the New York State English Council. We’re here. We love kids. […]
Posted inAdult Learning
Unfair Teacher Expectations: Changing the Rulebook for the Profession
Kelly Riesselman is a 5th-grade reading, writing, and social studies teacher in the Midwest. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and a master’s in elementary education. Kelly’s goal as an educator is to help students learn to see their own self-worth, take responsibility for their own learning, and cultivate a love of learning. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Student Discipline: If the students ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy
I remember my first classroom. It was bursting at the seams with posters, fairy lights, rugs, artwork, and anything that I could squeeze onto the walls in hopes of inspiring students to want to learn. My sweet Guinea pig students were not only dealing with me trying to find my feet as an educator, but they also had to battle the distractions they were fighting in trying to pay attention to me amongst the collage of my excitement suffocating them; on all sides!
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How Do You Grow As a Teacher? Reflection Without Condemnation
When I look back on my early years as a teacher, I have moments that I remember and literally cringe at, thankful for how far I have come. Not from the typical woes of learning this craft, but at my previous mindset, something I said or did, or something I wouldn’t dare teach now. Without […]
Posted inOpinion
During COVID We Ignored These Dress Code Trends, Let’s Ditch Them Now
When teachers and students got sent home in March 2020, one of the many school norms suddenly ignored was the dress code for students and teachers alike. My own children used to normally wearing, khakis and polo shirts, suddenly lounged in athletic shorts and t-shirts as they sat in front of computers, completed homework, and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Assigning a Research Paper? Think About Rigor, Responsibility, and Relevance in English/Language Arts
As English language arts teachers, we need to teach the language of doing business along with the literary arts. Thesis We teach literary research and other standard ELA concepts because students will be able to transfer the skills. Simply put, if students can research the imagery of Emily Dickinson’s poems, they can, likewise, research blood-alcohol […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Please Stop Using Blaccent With Your Students
Probably one of the most dehumanizing aspects of my educational journey as both a student and an educator is the “blaccent” that non-Black educators use when addressing Black people. According to Dictionary.com, a “blaccent” is “the imitation of Black English by non-black people.” It’s an offensive mockery of Black culture. To my non-Black educators, stop […]