It’s November and right now every teacher I know is in a “funk” where we know Thanksgiving is upon us and very shortly after Winter Break will be peeking its head around the corner. These past four months have been difficult, to say the least. We’ve dealt with: we’ve dealt with the effects of a […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
150 Articles Later: A Reflection on My Time at The Educator’s Room
In October 2012, my local newspaper published “Exhaustion of the American Teacher” by John Kuhn. I remember reading the article once. Twice. Four-hundred times. It simply spoke every frustrated, burnt out end of my professional being. If you haven’t read it yet, please stop reading this article and go there. So, like any curious reader, […]
Posted inFeatured, Parents
20 Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences
For most teachers, November marks two things on our schedules: Parent-teacher conferences A day of Thanks that they’re over Let’s get you from point 1 to point 2 with our 20 tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences PRE-CONFERENCE: 1. Learn your school’s culture regarding that day. The first years I taught at my current school, I […]
Posted inFeatured
Dear Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
Dear Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve sat in an IEP and watched your faces as the team discusses the strengths and weaknesses of your child from an academic viewpoint. I can see the fear, confusion, worry, and sometimes, anger on your face. I can feel your […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
What You Need to Know About Brain-Based Learning
The human brain weighs about 3 pounds, and, according to Jensen (2005), is adaptable in nature, has good integration between structures, and is sophisticated. Certainly, something to marvel at, the human brain has the capacity to do things that science has just begun to identify. As teachers, learning more about the brain and how it […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
[Election 2016] What Do We Tell Our Children?
Last night, in an upset many did not see coming, reality show star, Donald Trump was announced President-Elect of the United States. As I stared at the screen, I initially was too shocked to even react. In the polls leading up to the election, it was clear that he was “gaining ground” but to see […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Have You Hugged a First Year Teacher Today?
Surviving the First Year It was just weeks into my first year of teaching. I knew at age 22 that teaching would be the hardest undertaking of my life, but I didn’t realize how hard that would actually be. Now I was on my lunch break, and sitting in the small teacher’s lounge with my head hanging […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why We Should Teach Meditation in the Classroom
I took a writing class a few years ago with a famous author. We would write for ten minutes then meditate for ten minutes. The process was repeated at least a dozen times over the weekend. I had a little meditation practice but nothing routine. The author was a Zen Buddhist and she talked us […]