By: Jade Porsche The curriculum in my state is in its third year. It is a good curriculum—it’s rigorous, in-depth, and prepares students for the end-of-the-year state assessment with what we call “LEAP like” tasks and academic vocabulary. It gives teachers “Teacher Notes,” creates all the graphic organizers, supplies quizzes, and even give sample student […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
I Was Running Myself Into the Ground: My Self-Care Story
Guest Writer: Alexis Shepard I experienced major burn out my 4th year teaching. Tears and rants about how much I hated teaching were regular occurrences for my, then, boyfriend. Emotionally, I was a wreck most days—almost always angry and annoyed. The only things that kept me composed each day were the kindest grade level partner, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Water those marigolds! Watch those experienced educators bloom!
In 2003, I made a career leap by changing school districts. I had been in a comfortable position, with eight years teaching middle school social studies in a wealthy suburban school. However, I needed a change. I did not want to teach in a single classroom, in one building, investigating a particular topic for thirty-four […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
FIVE Ways Modern Teachers Are Being Set Up For Failure
Why are so many American teachers being set up to fail? As a mid-career classroom teacher, my hopes are relatively simple. Really. I want to teach my subject to receptive, well-behaved students in schools with a clear and consistent academic mandate that are safe, well-funded, and nestled within a broader culture that respects the professionalism […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
American Teachers: Take Off Your Identification Badges; Take Back Your School!
I began my teaching career in 1995. I had no experience with school resource officers, exterior doors at most schools were unlocked during the day, and metal detectors were used only in extreme cases. Then on April 20, 1999, the Columbine tragedy changed the conversation about the nature of schools and about the youth of America. The perpetrators […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
We Must Love Them
Wow. What a week. As a special education teacher, I love the challenges that come with my job. I deal mainly with children who have behavior struggles. My resource room is their, and their regular education teacher’s, safe haven. However, that doesn’t mean it’s MY safe haven. I spend the majority of my days trying […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
911: How to Douse the Flames of Teacher Burnout with Self-care
By Colleen Schmit from Crisscrossapplesaucebook There were many igniters that fanned my flames of burnout while I was a classroom teacher, but if I were to pick the greatest source of fuel to my fire it would be my lack of self-care while I was teaching. Taking care of everyone else’s needs before my own […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
THREE LIFE LESSONS On John Adams’s 283rd Birthday
Until quite recently, John Adams has been the most underappreciated Founding Father. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of historians such as David McCullough, Joseph Ellis, and Richard Brookhiser, not to mention HBO, this sad relegation is slowly vanishing from the nation’s psyche. It has been replaced, instead, by a sturdy and scholarly appreciation for the […]