My friend and former student-teacher called me the other week: “I need to vent to you for 10 minutes.” “We were supposed to get the vaccine once our meetings finished today. I received a text at 12:50p telling me the window for the vaccine was 1p-4p. As I was heading out the door, I received […]
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Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
OPINION: I Chose The New Deputy Secretary of Education Myself Once
The school in which I teach, and now send my daughter to learn, lies in one of the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods in San Diego. Nearly all of its students qualify for free and reduced lunch, the vast majority of the students speak English as a second language and teachers teach their hearts out. But there’s […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 2 – Begin with the End in Mind
When I studied for my M.Ed. in Leadership, the lasting lesson that I pulled from my coursework was from a program called Understanding By Design (now called “Backward Design”). It essentially advocates effective teaching is to lesson plan by beginning with the outcome – whether for the year, unit, week, or lesson. Why? The most […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 1 – Be Proactive
In the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, author Judith Viorst’s protagonist Alexander continually falls victim to an awful 24-hour period, saying things like: “I fell asleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair,” “All the other kids had cupcakes, Hershey bars, and other desserts, […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
The Teacher Learns the Lesson: Reminiscing on 48 Years of Teaching
Every future teacher has a lot to learn in college, but as I would soon find out after my college graduation day, nothing beats the “on the job training” you get when you go through that first year of teaching. I was so excited when I received my first teaching job in Florida back […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
The Virtual High School Teaching Experience: I Teach to Dots
Guest Writer: Leann Wnuk Ed.S. Leann is currently a high school Special Education teacher with over 10 years of experience in multiple states and grade levels. I have an Ed.S. in Special Education, an M.S. in Special Education, and a B.A. in Middle Grades Language Arts and Social Studies. I show up to the computer, […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Finding the Gold in Each of our Students in a Virtual Setting
Melissa Childs is an Instructional Coach and a Special Education teacher at Salmon River Middle School in Fort Covington, NY. Melissa is a School District Leader certified and is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. A reporter once asked Andrew Carnegie how he had been able to hire 43 millionaires. Carnegie responded that […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Being a First Year Teacher During a Pandemic: A Survival Guide
By Crystal Gammon When I decided to go back to school to obtain my teaching license, I could have never dreamed my first year teaching would be during a global pandemic. Who could have dreamed a year like this? I began my journey after having and raising children, so I am quite a bit older […]