Last week, a question was posted on The Educator’s Room Facebook page that got me thinking. The question asked about our goals as teachers and where we see our professional careers going. I scrolled through the comments and saw a lot of different responses. Many responded, but there were few who stated that their career […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
The Financial Trials and Tribulations of Teaching
The contents of this article may seem obvious, but when I was a new teacher fresh out of college, no one went over the basics of living as an adult with me. My parents passed away shortly after I started my teaching career, and I had to learn these financial survival skills from the school […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Do Black Lives Matter At School?
Hey, teacher: did you know that the week of February 5-10, 2018 has been designated Black Lives Matter At School? Did you know that Black Lives Matter at School is a thing? According to Teaching for Change, an organization dedicated to social justice, the first full week of February promotes three demands: End Zero Tolerance, […]
Posted inHistory
Wolfgang Köhler and the Fight for the Psychological Institute
We see hundreds of struggles in schools today. Some schools do not receive proper or adequate funding. Students are profiled and treated differently based on labels that society or previous teachers give them. Teachers turn to their administrators for help and receive no support. So, what do we do about it? How are we going […]
Posted inSocial Justice
31 Reasons For Black History Month
The captain of the Umoja Step Team popped into my classroom as she is apt to do at least two times a day. As she was leaving, she patted the advertisement posted on my classroom door for the upcoming Black History Celebration, hosted by the team. Turning towards me, she stated: “A girl in my […]
Posted inSchool Improvement
Students Need “Specials”
What is the practical purpose of those “specials” kids have in school- you know, P.E., Art, Music, Library? There is even another special to simply help kids keep up with the gadgets that find their way into schools: a Technology class! Do these specials interfere with the demands for academic proficiency? Do they make it […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
How Gregory Salcido Sullied the Teaching Profession
“We have a bunch of dumb sh**s over there…” California high school teacher Gregory Salcido said, in the midst of his classroom discussion with his teenage students. “They’re not academic people, not intellectual people. They’re the freaking lowest of our low…” The video, recorded by student Victor Q. (who wishes to join the United States […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Grades: Is There a Better Way to Measure Learning?
If I ran a school, I’d give the average grade to the ones who gave me all the right answers, for being good parrots. I’d give the top grades to those who made a lot of mistakes and told me about them, and then told me what they learned from them. – R. Buckminster Fuller. […]