Congratulations you’ve been hired for your first teaching position! You are about to have a great adventure with your own students. To make your first year easier here are 10 tips that you probably weren’t taught in college, but might really help you as you get started in your career. Tip 1 – When you meet […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Special Education
Have You Heard of People First Language?
What is People First Language? People First Language refers to the language our society uses to refer to people with disabilities. People First Language places emphasis where it should be, on the person and not the disability. People with disabilities, moreover our students with disabilities, are- first and foremost- people, who have individual abilities, likes, […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Parents
Watch Your Mouth: Speaking with Parents
Each year we get a new group of students and they bring along parents. We have opportunities at the beginning of the year to set up a relationship here that can work towards learning or against learning. There are a few simple things you can do as you start the school year to invite parents […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Recruitment & Retention, Series, Uncategorized
A Profession for My Generation
This op-ed originally appeared in the Memphis-based Commercial Appeal on August 3rd, 2014: I have a confession: Halfway through my second year of teaching, I was questioning whether teaching was really the right career for me. I was putting in countless hours in my Memphis high school, but my progress as an educator felt much […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Parents
The Importance of Reading Out Loud
Read out loud. It’s my mantra. I don’t care how old my elementary students are, I feel they all can benefit from reading out loud to their grown ups. And in this hurried world we live in, the grown ups benefit too. Younger readers need to read out loud to practice reading strategies, to work […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Uncategorized
Propaganda Used in Campbell Brown's Attack on Teacher Tenure
When I teach Animal Farm by George Orwell I have the opportunity to teach propaganda techniques. I provide the students with the definitions and examples of several different types of propaganda techniques. Then, as we read, I have them find these techniques in the novel. Students also find and share propaganda in advertisements they see in other media, on TV […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Featured, Parents, Special Education, Uncategorized
6 Tips for Students with Learning Disabilities Who Plan to Attend College
It’s that time of year again! Students everywhere, including students with Learning Disabilities, are gearing up to start another year of school. For many of these students, this will be their last year as high school students. It’s a year full of many emotions and uncertainty about their future. Homecoming, Homecoming Week, Prom, Senior Night, […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
Utilizing Journals Across Subjects
One of the skills I see kids lacking consistently is the ability to find information on their own. Resourcefulness used to come almost innately, but nowadays it’s missing in action. One of the ways I try to teach this skill is with journals. We use journals for just about everything in my class. Most of […]