Contact your N.Y. Assembly representative! Recently, four bills were sponsored in our N.Y. State Assembly, and I have no idea how the legislative process works in great detail, but the spirit behind and purpose of these bills is encouraging. It certainly could be part of what has some of the lobbyist/wealth-funded school privatizers running around […]
Posted inTechnology
Google Classroom Series Part 1: Why I Use It
I love the feel of paper in my hands. My husband has desperately been trying to convert me to the Kindle, but I keep buying more printed books. Yes, we’re running out of bookshelf space (but isn’t it every English teacher’s dream to own an in-home library?), and yes, digital copies are cheaper, but I […]
Posted inFeatured, Professional Development
The Teacher Edrepreunur: Potential Book Writers BEWARE!
“Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.” — SUSAN SONTAG This will be the shortest column I ever post. But it is important to make the following observation: When I was a child I used to believe that the people who wrote books were somehow members of an exclusive club, a […]
Posted inFeatured
10 Tips: Running a Political Debate
Last week I shared “10 Reasons Why Teachers Should Host Political Debates.” It was a reflection piece on a State Senate debate I helped plan, coordinate, and orchestrate. Since then I’ve received several letters of thanks and strangers in the community approaching me in appreciation. Most importantly, students (and their parents) have expressed the most […]
Posted inFeatured
Experiences Matter in Education
I am thankful for my childhood, my family, and all the experiences I have had. I catch myself sometimes making a reflexive mental diagnosis for students who come from broken homes and bad influences.; judgments regarding why work doesn’t get done, why they behave a certain way, and so on. Despite what education attackers want […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
No One Should be out of Place at the Opera
Right before Spring Break, my third graders took a trip to the Metropolitan Opera to attend a dress rehearsal of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Going to the opera isn’t a normal part of third grade for a lot of New York City students. But thanks to my school’s dedicated music teacher, our third, […]
Posted inParents
“RAK” Up Teacher Appreciation Week
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to our fellow educators! While they’ll hopefully be showered with gifts and praise this week by their school board, community, administrators, students, and parents – we have a project to pitch. We want to make this week not so much about teachers but about the currency of teachers: We want to […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
School Safety Doesn’t Mean What You Think
School safety is paramount to most parents. They want to believe that their children can go to school, get an education and not be bullied or threatened. The current problem in our schools is that those who make decisions about the safety of schools seem to be more focused with attacks from strangers rather than […]