By Guest Author Andrea Shunk It’s lunchtime at school and a familiar scene is playing out once again with my coworkers amid the reheated leftovers and cold sandwiches. “Ugh,” complains Sheila. “I hate teaching this reading intervention curriculum.” This is the reheated version of the same conversation I’ve had with Sheila for three years. Today’s […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured
Supporting Students Can be More than Academic
Supporting students has always meant letting my students know that I understood how stressful their lives can be. While we can’t control their home lives we can be aware that our schools are not necessarily very student friendly. Between earlier and earlier starting times, dress codes/uniforms, poorly scheduled rosters, and crazy standardized testing, students do […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, The New Teacher Chronicles
First Day Jitters
It is hard to put into words the feeling I felt when that school bell rang at 7:55 signaling the start of the first day of school. Parents had left with their cameras full of “first day” pictures and no one was in the back observing my teaching and making sure my lesson plans were […]
Posted inFeatured, High School, Literacy, Series
Close and Critical Reading: What did we just read?
Last week, I introduced the concept of Close & Critical Reading (CCR). While we begin the strategies with all ages, we (currently) use the vocabulary of CCR starting with our seventh graders. The first of the four questions is “What is the text about?” This seems easy enough, having students summarize what they read, however, many kids have […]
Posted inFeatured, Uncategorized
Snip, Snip, Snip: What are we Really Cutting When We Cut Educational Spending?
The economy is still in critical condition and when the economy is poor, corners have to be cut financially. Education suffers just as much as the rest of the nation. Many politicians and policy makers think education should be cut because we do not produce a “product.” We all know that budget cuts made to […]
Posted inFeatured, Series, Teacher Leaders
How to Own the Leadership of Your Classroom: Investing Others
This post is the second in a series on classroom-centered teacher leadership. The first part on crafting a vision is here. It’s estimated that teachers are responsible from 1,500 to 3,000 nontrivial decisions every day. And yet, many of us don’t feel in control of our classrooms. Depending on the school we may have some […]
Posted inUncategorized
Keeping The Yearly Handouts Organized, Especially For New Students & Parents
I have been getting ready for Parent Orientation for the past week. Our orientation consists of meeting with the parents to go over the school handbook, school contract, school calendar and answer any questions that the adults may have. Then the adults meet with the teacher that their child will have and the teacher will […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Special Education, Uncategorized
Why I Fled Special Ed (and How to Fix It)
At the end of last year, I had had enough of my job. After eight years as an expert Special Education teacher, I felt that I could no longer do my job and stay sane. I wanted out! I knew from previous experiences that, despite my certifications and work history, I would not easily get […]