I realized almost immediately that I wasn’t getting through to my Kindergartners… again. I asked a class full of 5-year-olds to identify feeling words, and I got the same generic responses – happy, sad, mad. Year after year, I struggle with how to teach my primary students, especially my English Language Learners, to use precise […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum, TeacherEdprenur
CLIMBING MOUNT EVEREST: THE QUEST FOR PUBLICATION
The following is the second piece of a four-part series entitled “TeacherEdprenur” and will follow the journey of how a simple idea about teaching became the subject of a new book, The Secrets of Timeless Teachers: Instruction that Works in Every Generation, published by Rowman & Littlefield next month (May 2016). Non-stop self-loathing. Interminable rejection. […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Instructional Strategies
[The Rural School Chronicles] A Toolbox for Working With Challenging Students
At the beginning of this year, I noticed a boy who is in one of the homerooms I work closely with. Stationed at the end of a hall to watch students as they come in, near his room, I would see him approach. Head down, eyes down, every day; a look on his face that […]
Posted inUncategorized
What Teachers Give Up
I am surrounded by brilliant minds every day, and while many of them are sitting in the desks in front of me, I cannot help, but be in awe of my coworkers. They are amazing. Teachers are a mixed and match collection of degrees including Bachelors, Masters, and PHDs. Most of them are parents. Some […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Common Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Uncategorized
Standardized Protesting
Most Americans are quite aware of their First Amendment rights, namely their freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. One of the most often overlooked freedoms in that all-too-important amendment is the freedom to protest, and it’s something that teachers should consider when it comes to standardized testing. They can standardized […]
Posted inChild Development, Current Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Middle School, New Teacher Bootcamp, School Improvement, Teacher Burnout
The Final Days of School
Charles Swindoll said, “Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, money, circumstances, than failures and success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, ability or skill. It will make or break a business, a home, a friendship, an organization. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
The Decision to Test
Okay, let’s get the boring, background stuff out of the way first, and fast. It’s painful but necessary. The federal government passed No Child Left Behind, commonly called NCLB, in 2002 under President Bush. The Department of Education says it passed with partisan support. The purpose of the legislation was to increase accountability for public […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Special Education
Making it Interesting: 5 Easy Ways to Differentiate Processes
All students have different interests, and the fact remains that most students are not interested in worksheets about math, language arts, science, and social studies. Think back to when you were in school and the best lesson you’ve ever been taught by a teacher. What made that lesson stand out to you? Was it the […]