by: Caleb White Earlier today I checked the roll to see who’d be absent from my history class in the last period of the day. Nuts. It looked like close to a full complement, and this particular class has some challenging personalities. You know, the stoner, the loner, the clown, the jock. There are a handful […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Changing Schools: How do you know when it’s time to go?
How do you know when to leave? When to change your job, school, district, profession? There is only one thing that is unfailingly true: no matter what, someone will disagree with your choice. I am not talking about the obvious stuff: total misery, incompatible supervisor, burn-out, moving for love. I am talking about the times when […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Creativity: Simplicity and Decision-Making
By: Aimee Cribbs There was a Christmas that Santa filled my daughter’s stocking with masking tape because my little girl was not interested in the season’s hottest toys, but making things out of the boxes they came in. As an art educator in retrospect, I realize how this unsophisticated Christmas contributed to my now-teenage daughter’s […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why Being an English Speaker Isn’t Enough to Teach English Abroad
By: Tishely Ortiz I was an adjunct instructor for over a year when I decided to teach English in Mexico. I fell in love with the country when I visited, so when I got word that a position for an English teacher was open, I jumped at the opportunity. The friend who referred me said […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
What I Learned About Burnout Prevention As A New Teacher
by Guest Writer Bailey Cavender As a first year teacher, I never really understood summer vacation until school ended for the year this past week. Sure, I enjoyed summer vacation while I was a student. It was nice to have some time to read books for fun or to watch a movie […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Boosting Critical Thinking Skills Through Guided Reading
by: Candice Yamnitz Guided reading: HOT stem posters, language objectives with higher DOK questions, and lesson plans designed with student thinking in mind, OH MY! In my dual-language 4th-grade classroom, we were set! The students were going to be critical thinkers. This eventually did happen with 100% of my students, but it wasn’t the whole […]
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Whiteboarding Your Way to Relationships
by: DeAna Morgan This was my “first” year in my second high school teaching position. I was super stoked to be building an art department from the ground up again. It’s always a trying and exciting time when you start over because you fear fitting in, finding everything, and getting used to the new groove. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Power of Authenticity in the Classroom
Guest Post by: Maria Kruzdlo “No one ever changed the world by choosing the best out of five possible answers.” While the author of this quote is unknown, the weight of the statement can not go unnoticed for it drives home the value of learning in the first place. In our ever changing world, it […]