Have you ever felt like an administrator just doesn’t like you and that no matter what you do, he/she will determine you’re doing it wrong? What do you do when that happens? Run for the hills? Kill them with kindness? Here are some common sense strategies for dealing with an administrator that simply doesn’t want […]
Posted inHigh School
Curbing Student Failure
Students facing failure is one aspect of teaching that we are familiar with. The term “failure” can take on many meanings depending upon the age of the student, course, and whether we mean earning a poor grade or not making satisfactory progress required to meet the class expectations. There are many signs that a teacher […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
What “School Choice” Means for Students, Teachers, and Everyone In-Between
The words school choice have been heard a lot in 2017. Specifically, “school choice” is a phrase most often associated with controversial Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. As an educator with experience in virtual education, higher education, and in brick-and-mortar secondary education, many friends and family members have been asking my thoughts on DeVos and on the Trump […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The STEM Revolution in Higher Education
I just got back from a fascinating conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report! I was compelled by the idea of a STEM revolution in higher education; as a middle school teacher, it really didn’t occur to me that colleges would be reacting in a similar […]
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Learning to See Through Fine Arts
In high school, I was taught how to see. The best art teacher I have ever had stood in front of the class and gave us the simplest explanation as to why our drawings and paintings did not look lifelike. The images being recorded on our pages were symbols of what we thought pictures should […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Survive and Thrive as a New Teacher
I remember way back, last August when I was getting ready to start my first year of teaching. I was nervous but excited. Nervous, because I was going to be setting and enforcing my very own classroom culture. Excited, because I was and am passionate about the subject that I am able to teach. Looking […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Five Books That Will Make Your World Bigger
Someone once said that reading can make your world bigger. Someone also said that reading can be a mirror to your own true self. I projected both of these thoughts on the screen in my classroom recently as a way for my 8th grade ELA students to reflect on the books they read during the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Using Furniture to Increase Student Engagement
Furniture in classrooms has stayed relatively the same for years; there is a desk, with a sturdy, upright chair, and maybe a table with chairs- if a teacher happens to be so lucky. However, this standard desk and chair arrangement are not conducive to a productive work environment. Not many careers mandate workers to sit […]