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 […]
Child Development
Stressed out Students: What Has Changed and How Can We Help?
School district 204 in Naperville, Illinois has been on the news a lot lately, and 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 […]
Teaching: Taking on the Moral Imperatives (Part II)
So now you’re fierce, are you? Fierce like, how? For Part II, I want to talk more about being fierce. It’s not just standing up against the onslaught of union-bashing and data mashing designed to demean teachers. It’s being unafraid to fight for what kids really need And it’s about actively pursuing greater understanding in order […]
Teaching: Taking on the Moral Imperatives (Part I)
What moral imperatives? I have been thinking more about the moral imperatives of teaching. These imperatives can hinder instruction and progress. That’s why the only option is to address and hopefully resolve them. They are moral imperatives because it’s wrong to not handle them. Preparing students academically-now that’s the job, a duty. Consultants, education experts/leaders (folks who travel around and talk about […]
Teaching Freshman Students How to Filter Themselves
The Freshman Filter Teaching freshmen students can be a very strange challenge at times. When I started teaching, I remembered that freshman year was one of the changes. I’ll be honest; one of the things that made me want to teach middle school or freshman in high school was the way students in this age […]
Maintaining an Inclusive School Environment Through Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. -Theodore Roosevelt An inclusive and supportive school climate is an important part of education for teachers, students, administrative staff, and parents. One of the ways that we can maintain a school culture that is inclusive is by ensuring that students have […]
Making Special Education Work For Everyone
I teach in a mild/moderate special education classroom, meaning that all of my kids are on IEPs and have been placed in my room because they meet disability criteria that my school district recognizes. They are able to attend a regular education classroom for all other subjects besides reading, language arts, math and adaptive behavior. […]
Making Sense of Special Education Paperwork: 3 Systems That Save Me Each and Every Time
I took a new position this year, one where the teaching I’ve been doing is the same, but the paperwork is not, I am a special education teacher in a resource room for kindergarten through third grade. For those of you are new to the special education area (like me) and are literally wallowing in […]