Part I: Mental Health Support for Educators On March 15th, Mayor de Blasio announced that non-essential businesses and schools in New York City would close. The past month has been surreal, challenging, inspiring, overwhelming as I’ve tried to adapt to remote learning along with 75,000 other adults and more than one million children At some […]
Child Development
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teaching from Home: Tips for Focusing on Results- One Teacher’s Reflection
I am now past ten days of teaching from home. Being away from the students has made the job more difficult. Teaching from home pushes challenges that normally exist in the spotlight. How do I reach the hardest to reach? How do I assess progress (or lack of it)? Remembering that I am still their […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
A Pandemic Brings Opportunity to Rethink Standardized Testing
Coronavirus-canceled testing brings an opportunity. As a teacher and parent in the state of New York, news that standardized testing might be canceled this year brings mixed emotions. I suspected the closures due to COVID-19 might come to this, and for many years I have been pretty open about my personal feelings about abuse-by-test. My […]
Posted inThe State of Education
Let’s talk about Testing Anxiety in Children
I can still remember how I felt as I looked at the tears falling from one of my brightest students as she sat in her assigned seat for the Georgia Milestones Assessment last spring. Because I was mandated to sign my life away on a form acknowledging the serious nature of standardized testing, all I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: The Neuroscience Behind Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Mister Rogers and his philosophy of loving our neighbors as they are has gained momentum over the past year, especially since the release of the biographical documentary film Won’t You Be My Neighbor? in 2018. What’s more, the trailer for the film “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood” starring Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers was […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Why I Worry About My Students
There are a thousand reasons why I worry about my students I had a challenging group this past school year. Generally, my “teacher radar” runs in the background on low intensity-ready to alert me as needed. Off-task behavior or potential disruptions elicit a ping. But with this group, I had to be constantly aware of […]
Posted inChild Development
The State of Sex Education in Alabama
In Alabama abstinence is the best form of birth control, except when it is not. Although the teenage pregnancy rate has dramatically decreased in the USA, Alabama remains a state where teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection are actually rising. [bctt tweet=”In Alabama abstinence is the best form of birth control, except when it […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Your Students and Video Games: Adult Supervision Required
It’s important for students to be well-rested and prepared for each day of learning, but video games and excessive screen time can make getting that rest a challenge. It’s hard to avoid screen time these days. Cell phones and computers are ever more present in our daily routines. Some restaurants even take your order on […]