By: Guest Writer So, I am sitting here in my classroom fretting about the legal and ethical ramifications of grade inflation. You see, in my present school, the administration has insisted that even if a child sits idle all year, never having handed in one anecdotal artifact to demonstrate mastery, I should enter a grade […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Microaggressions to Misbehavior: How School to Prison Pipeline Begins
Wow, I’m surprised he did so well on the test. He’s not ghetto like those other boys. She’s so loud. They don’t care. They can’t read. They’re just lazy. Microaggression: a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Principal: Cancel That Honor Roll Assembly!
Remember those bumper stickers that seemed all the rage in the nineties: “My son is an Honor Roll Student at Pleasant Valley Middle School?” Or, maybe you chuckled at the inappropriate bumper sticker that read: “My kid can beat up your honor roll student?” Or, perhaps you have seen posts on social media by proud […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Self-Care Tips for the New Teacher: The Black Immigrant Perspective
Guest Writer: Jheanell Lumsden I remember leaving my classroom after teaching one of my toughest classes and crying in the bathroom of my placement school during my student teaching practicum. This was something that happened quite often. I constantly felt like I was drowning and I would often question whether teaching, in urban communities, was […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Teaching Through the Grief: Holding it All Together When a Parent Dies
by Alison English It was a Thursday morning, two days before my week-long Thanksgiving break. I was so excited to spend quality time with my family, drink hot cider and eat turkey until I fell asleep, consume comfort carbs, and cap off the weekend by pulling out my Christmas decorations. Instead, I spent the Sunday […]
Posted inFeatured
[December] Teacher Self-Care Calendar
Download our December Calendar for teachers to practice Self-Care all month long! Stay tuned for our 12-month calendar being released January 1st! To be the first to know when they’re released, please click here to sign up.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
San Antonio Teacher Self-Care Conference- One Day Institute
For the 2018-2019 school year, we’ve committed to visiting four cities to bring a truncadated version of the Teacher Self-Care Conference to select cities across America. Back in October we visited Chicago and worked with 133 teachers all around their self-care! Now we’re headed to San Antonio on January 26, 2019! We have […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
My Morning Routine As a Teacher
I recently read Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander’s book My Morning Routine, and I was relatively impressed with the content (and recommend reading it – it’s an easy read in a couple of hours). The premise is essentially based upon an interview with many magnates of industry, from General Stanley McChrystal to Arianna Huffington, discussing […]