I am a huge advocate for early intervention. Unfortunately, my district doesn’t always share the same philosophy. In my experience, students who are having difficulty in first and second grade (even some students in kindergarten) can be identified and remediated with the right supports. We are doing a huge disservice to children and families by […]
Child Development
Posted inSpecial Education
The Importance of Communication For IEP Students and Parents
I realize that I am a little on the eccentric side. I like it there, without the boundaries and regiment of the real world. And since I see things from a different perspective than most I also enjoy some things that many teachers find to be less enjoyable. One of those things is IEP meetings. […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Taking the Anxiety Out of Student Placement in Special Education
If you are like me you get very invested in your students in special education. So invested that it is difficult to release them to the next special education teacher. I teach kindergarten through third grade mild/moderate special education in a resource room, so some of my kids loop up with me the next year […]
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Integrating Trends in Education: Lesson Plan Development for the 21st Century
When school starts next year, I’ll be in my thirty-fifth year in education. I feel like the slogan of the Farmer’s Insurance ad, “I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two.” Group work is now “Cooperative Learning.” Homework and tests are now tagged as “formative” and “summative” assessments. “Bloom’s taxonomy […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
10 Things My Newborn Younger Son Taught Me About Education
Isaiah, my second son, joined the world at 5:25a on May 4, 2018. In between the midst of nurse and specialist checkups, I had a second to look out the window overlooking a beautiful river-laden landscape, and I remember the article I wrote after my first son joined our family. And how I continue to […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
10 Thoughts During a Failed Lesson
Thought 1: “I like this lesson” It might not be my best, but I’m satisfied with it. It’s educational. It’s collaborative. There’s some entertainment value. It certainly is important to their lives and what we’ve been previously talking about. It’ll be successful. Thought 2: “What the h*#%! is going on here?!” It doesn’t seem like […]
Posted inSchool Improvement
Students Need “Specials”
What is the practical purpose of those “specials” kids have in school- you know, P.E., Art, Music, Library? There is even another special to simply help kids keep up with the gadgets that find their way into schools: a Technology class! Do these specials interfere with the demands for academic proficiency? Do they make it […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How stress is causing students to comitt suicide: What has changed and how can we help?
A school district 204 in Naperville, Illinois, was not on the news, not for its awesome test scores and stellar college acceptance rates. Last school year alone, District 204 experienced three student deaths, two of which were ruled to be suicides. According to Michelle Rusk, a suicide expert, she claims that the “community pressure placed […]