When it comes to my job, there are very few things that bother me. However, the one thing that does is the reality that within my district, I am the ONLY African American teacher in any of our high schools (our district has 2 high schools). I am always reminded of this whenever students come […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Informational Texts: Speeches Delivered with Love from Bruce and Steve
For teachers who are looking for guidance on how to teach informational texts at the high school level, there is a model lesson on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address at the EngageNY website. The text of the speech delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, is short enough to fit on two pages or two bronze plaques on a memorial […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
Think About Your Thinking—Going Beyond State Testing
“The ear of the leader must ring with the voice of the people.” –Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924). In our state, we test reading, mathematics, and science in fourth grade. I understand and respect a tool that can show learning and growth, comparing students and schools. It is also a philosophical struggle to spend eight days testing […]
Posted inBook Review, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Do your 'Assignments Matter'? A Book Review
Eleanor Dougherty’s Assignments Matter is a great book. Assignments make up a bulk of what teachers do, and probably take for granted. We give assignments because that’s what teachers do. Dougherty shows that just giving assignments is not enough. She encourages teachers to analyze the process so they are choosing assignments that provide an authentic […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Opinion, Uncategorized
Common Core Should Share Common Language
[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”] A visitor walking into a school encounters the school’s mission statement on a banner or etched on a plaque, or painted on to the wall. The mission statement defines the school’s […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Principals' Corner
Charter School Diaries # 6 – Turning off the Cruise Control
This week was an abbreviated one. Unfortunately, I was only in school for three days (Wednesday through Friday), but the week was no less compelling. Personally, I think that fire drills are outdated, yet we actually had a small emergency where a fire drill was warranted this week. We also had an incident where a […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Helping Teachers- Why Wait?
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. If there was ever a time when public education needed defenders, it’s now. If there was a day when teachers needed support, it’s today. The great American experiment of a free public education for all children—rich and poor, black and white, fluent y todavia aprendiendo, children like yours and […]
Posted inBook Review, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
How Readicide Has Changed My Teaching and Purchasing Practices
Readicide is defined as, “the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices often found in schools.” I fear I was a Readicide practitioner in my early years of teaching, but I am now trying to recover and adopt practices suggested in Kelly Gallagher’s book Readicide. Gallagher points to a crisis […]