When I first started teaching the second-half of American history, my colleagues and I fell in love with the curriculum. The Civil War, the World Wars, the industrialization and rise of America, and the jazz age all piqued our interests. But one unit that always left us wanting more was Reconstruction. Often glossed over as […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
So, How Is [COVID] School Going?
I have fielded this question from family, friends, and neighbors. It is a simple question. I have been teaching social studies for over twenty-five years, so I should offer a concise answer. However, the question makes me stammer and equivocate. I find myself thinking and sometimes saying the following: “It’s weird.” “I hate every minute […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
Top of the List: Attuning to Self-Care Needs of Educators
Written by Camica Edwards Another day at the office, I am consulting with my principal on a plan for student mental health and wellness as the junior high school counselor. I’m in his doorway scanning his office and again, notice his half-eaten cold burrito on his desk. We are about 8 feet apart and masked […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Accountability and Empathy: Where’s the Balance?
Accountability and Empathy: Where’s the Balance? Pandemic Adjustments I went into this year knowing online learning would be tough. I zoomed in with my equity lens and kept it sharply focused, ready to make adjustments wherever necessary to meet students’ needs. 2020 has been a stressful time for all of us and my students are […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Zooming into the Abyss: The VANISHING AMERICAN STUDENT
The students have begun to disappear. In the beginning of the school year, when class began every day, I was greeted with a friendly mosaic of smiling teenage faces. This was the beginning of their senior year of high school, and while no one wanted it to commence with the assistance of Zoom and Google […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners
Return to Panem:Teaching Possibilities with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
When the original Hunger Games series was released, with its conclusion published in 2010, I was busy teaching 8th grade English at a suburban/rural middle school in Tennessee. I immediately saw possibilities in the book and was encouraged by a colleague’s work with the first novel at another middle school. I began using the first […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The 5 Stages of Grief Pandemic Style
This morning I attended a virtual conference on Teacher Self Care presented by the Educator’s Room. First of all, this was so nice to be connected with like-minded people and not feel isolated for a change. During one session presented by Caitlin Mehra on emotions. It was here I had my own “Aha” moment regarding […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teachers: Stop What You’re Doing
To my fellow teachers: Stop what you’re doing. Whatever it is, stop. Following up with families whose kids aren’t joining your Zoom calls, providing feedback to students’ work, watching a webinar on Social Emotional Learning, or anti-racist teaching practices, reviewing your lessons and tasks for the coming days… I know. It is all very, very […]