Why Educators Must Read ‘Between the World and Me’ “No one directly proclaimed that schools were designed to sanctify failure and destruction. But a great number of educators spoke of ‘personal responsibility’ in a country authored and sustained by a criminal irresponsibility. The point of this language of ‘intention’ and ‘personal responsibility’ is broad exoneration. Mistakes […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Mathematics
5 Do's and Don'ts for Teaching Elementary Mathematics
Have you ever heard math content specialists say that elementary teachers have poor math content knowledge, but they have great instructional strategies? While this may be seen as harsh but for the most part it is true. Through not fault of their own colleges did not prepare elementary teachers to specialize in mathematics. When a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Going Paperless, Instruction & Curriculum, Series, Technology
Adventures in Going Paperless: Making Assumptions about Digital Literacy
I am an immigrant—digitally speaking. Like many born in the late 70’s, I have fond(ish) memories of hovering over my Brother WP 1400D, busting out a 14 page essay due the next day. I used card catalogs, bound journals, and microfiche for my research. I didn’t even have an email account until college, much less […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Common Core, From the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Middle School
Maybe It's The Time Of Year: Taking Another Look At Confrontation In The Classroom
It was just a lesson on folktales, really. We’ve been reading a variety of stories from around the world in my 8th grade English classroom – sometimes with partners or small groups, but yesterday I asked my students to tackle reading “Davy Crockett” alone. Their essential question was familiar at this point: “What do folktales […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Educational Apps, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Literacy, Social Studies
Classroom Work Flow Before the Holidays
I have one week and three days to go before students are released for the holiday break. It is such a difficult time of year to set goals, establish a workflow and keep the enthusiasm in student learning. Students carry the stress and the burden of the holidays on themselves in a myriad of ways […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Taking Care Of YOU
Stress is absolutely killing me, emotionally and physically. As my semester draws to a close I can’t help but think about the roller coaster this year has already been. I love the feeling of starting a new school year. The fresh set of students, the eager eyes, the fun lesson plans. As the year progresses […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum
Take A Break in Time for the Holiday Season
The time from Thanksgiving through Christmas break is a paradox of time. The days blend together and fly by as the end of semester checklist is slowly completed. But the hours seem to crawl by as you fight against commercialism, seasonal change and holiday excitement for the attention of your students. Here are a few […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Literacy, Opinion
Celebrating the Little Victories in the Classroom
This morning, I was listening to Joel Osteen and I felt that the sermon was directed towards me. It was about celebrating small victories. As teachers, we want to change the world. We have big dreams for our students and we lose sight of the little things. While the big successes are wonderful, they are […]