Bridgette Gallagher is a high school English teacher in Saratoga Springs, NY where she has worked for the past 20 years teaching grades 9,11, and Creative Writing. In addition to being a teacher leader, she also serves as the Vice President of Secondary for the New York State English Council. We’re here. We love kids. […]
Child Development
Posted inChild Development, Mental Health
Creating a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom Part 1
“Billy, that is the umpteenth time you’ve gone to the pencil sharpener. You need to sit down and get to work!” The teacher is frustrated with Billy as he continues to get out of his seat to walk around the room to the pencil sharpener. And then she reflects on what she recently learned about […]
Posted inParents
10 Lessons About Teaching from My Youngest Son
Isaiah, my second son, celebrated his 3rd birthday on May 4. When he was born and I held him in my arms, I thought about all the things I had learned from his older brother. I went home a few days later and shared my thoughts with you all, only to come around this side […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Can We Talk About Inclusion for Autistic Educators?
. Hi, I am a teacher, and I am autistic. I am new to public education in the realm of elementary school. I have 15 years of experience as a preschool teacher, but I recently changed careers because I wanted to teach elementary-aged students. Can we take a minute to talk about inclusion for autistic […]
Posted inChild Development
Student Agency- The Essence of a Modern Classroom
Sanam Edwards is a teacher in DPS International, Gurgaon (India). She enjoys building the student’s voice and choice within the classroom environment while infusing her quirky sense of humor into daily activities. She is an advocate for technology in the classroom and is constantly on the lookout for new ways to engage the students emotionally, […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 3 – First Things First
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 […]
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, […]