[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] No matter how much I prepare for the start of the new school year I still feel a nervous anxiety on the first day of classes similar to the start of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten
September 11, the Class of 2014, and the Poetry of a Memory
Eighteen years ago, I was teaching my Advanced Placement English class when word came that a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. Several hours later, all classes were abandoned in the high school. A line of students formed in the office in order to call and know if […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Common Core, From the Front Lines, Social Studies
What Does a Quality Social Studies Assessment Look Like?
Recently a reader emailed us this question: What Does a Quality Social Studies Assessment Look Like?  Well, reader, I’ll be the first to admit – my instruction tactics have evolved much over the years, but nothing has changed more in the way in which I test students. What once began as fill-in questions with some true/false […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Parents, Technology
Communication: It’s Not Just Newsletters Anymore
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] The first newspaper was published in America in 1690.* This changed the way information was shared: from tales and gossip to written word. Beginning in 1885, newspapers were delivered daily by train. […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
Let Them Think!
A few years ago I had a student in my classroom with a scrappy personality who was unafraid to speak his mind. One day, towards the end of the year, my fourth graders were working and one student came up and asked me an obvious question. From across the room Mr. Scrappy yells, “She’s not […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
NYC Mayoral Election and Education
This is an important year for all New York City Public School teachers. The Bloomberg Era of being unable to work with the teacher’s union is finally coming to a close. Because New York City is one of the largest public school systems in the country, the new policies rolled out by the new mayor […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Opinion
Classroom Pets = Caring In The Classroom
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] I am an animal person. Always have been. And not in a needy-gotta-take-care-of-something sort of way (although I do love it when I get to bottle feed a rescue), but in […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Rigor…. "Inconceivable!"
Some of best lines in the film The Princess Bride are given to the assassin-for-hire Vizzini. For those unfamiliar with this classic film, Vizzini’s repeated use of the word “inconceivable” is finally challenged by the vengeance-seeking swordsman, Inigo Montoya while they stand overlooking a cliff watching the Dread Pirate Roberts climb in pursuit: [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ […]