By Guest Writer Jennifer Healey This New Year’s Eve, I deserved an extra glass of champagne. I toasted myself for my success as an educator. After years of “failure,” in 2015 I was deemed a “successful” teacher by the illustrious Oregon Department of Education. It all went by so fast! It seems like only yesterday I […]
Posted inFeatured, Uncategorized
A Teacher’s Worth
How is a teacher’s worth measured? Is it based on how many years an educator has in the field? The state of Michigan decided the answer to that question was “no” when it prohibited schools from making cuts based on seniority. Personally, this was a relief to me. For the past ten years, our district […]
Posted inFeatured, Instructional Strategies
Thank You In Advance: The Power of Expectation
One of our counselors recently came in to speak to each of my block classes about an upcoming mentoring program in which they were about to be involved. As she spoke, she kept saying things like, “I know this may be new, but I thank you in advance for cooperating and giving it a chance. Thank you […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Crisis In Flint = Disaster For A Generation Of Students
When hearing news about the financial issues of major cities in the United States, headlines often point to Camden, Cleveland, St. Louis, and, of course, Detroit. Countless articles have been published about the downturn of these formerly bustling hubs. Detroit alone has garnered international development attention from planners looking to avoid such collapses in the […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Common Core, Educational Apps, English Language Learners, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Inquiry Based Research For John Steinbeck's Novel 'The Pearl'
I want my 8th-grade students to learn more than just the standards – I want them to learn strategies to learn, and how to utilize the best tools to show their learning. I remind them that in high school, college and careers they will be responsible for making decisions about how they create projects, and […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Featured, High School, Instructional Strategies
Ten Apps and Websites for Teachers
I am a big fan of work smarter not harder, but I am not a fan of technology. Technology is fabulous when it actually works like it should. That being said, here are a few apps and websites that I have used and had a pretty positive success with. Of course, they may not always […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Opinion, The International Teacher, The Traveling Teacher
Taiwan English Teaching Assistant: Things I Learned in My First Five Months of Teaching
from Kinmen, Taiwan It is almost time for us to go on our 2 ½ week vacation for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) and I wanted to share some things I learned in my first few months of teaching English in Taiwan. Think inside the box– In my first month of teaching I felt pressured to […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy
Ain’t No Party Like a Publishing Party
Celebrating Student Work with an Authentic Audience Last month my students finally finished their book reviews. It was our first full writing unit of the year, and at times it was difficult for them. It was a very different type of writing than anything they’d done before. When their confidence or interest flagged however, I […]