Every year, I get to the part in my high school curriculum where I start to introduce Shakespeare’s Macbeth. And every year, the students complain. “Why do we have to read this?” “What’s even the point of Shakespeare?” “I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now.” “What is this?!” And every year, I tell them […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
#RealTalk Why We Haven’t Quit Teaching
Quit teaching: The past few articles I’ve written have been controversial. The craziest response I’ve received has been, “Wow! Can tell you are young and have a long way to go! In fact get out now! Your students and parents deserve it…” When I first read this response, my “irritated, frustrated, and over it” reaction […]
Posted inHigh School
Dear Teachers, Parents, and Teachers Who Are Parents: You Do Not Need To Trust Your Teen, They Need To Trust You
Teenagers are weird and stupid. They make rash, half-cocked decisions creating consequences that bring parents to their knees. Since our oldest became a teenager two school years ago, I have prayed so frequently that my deceased, Catholic grandparents would be proud. I am not a good Christian or particularly spiritual, but being a mom of […]
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 inInstruction & Curriculum
Self Care Won’t Solve Teacher Burnout. Organizing Will.
The Self Care Trap There was a time (I suppose we’re still in it) when an endless stream of “trauma-informed” initiatives passed through my Facebook feed, e-mail inbox, and classroom. A lot of these offered some variation of mindfulness training for teachers or students. Whether it was through yoga or meditation, numerous programs promised safer, […]
Posted inThe State of Education
Let’s talk about Testing Anxiety in Children
I can still remember how I felt as I looked at the tears falling from one of my brightest students as she sat in her assigned seat for the Georgia Milestones Assessment last spring. Because I was mandated to sign my life away on a form acknowledging the serious nature of standardized testing, all I […]
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 inThe New Teacher Chronicles
First Year Teachers, Y’all Alright?
Dear First-Year Teachers, You’re not doing it wrong. It’s just that hard. I wanted to write this article to simply check-in… so… Y’all Alright? The first week of school is over, and we’re deep into the school year now. I remember how I felt that first week: nervous, anxious, and excited to pour into the […]