Some of the most challenging students I’ve had to teach have been those with Oppositional-Defiant Disorder. These students challenge the behavioral norms in the classroom, often show low academic achievement, and lack motivation. Thankfully, there is plenty of research behind teaching these tough nuts to crack and lots of resources to help you figure out interventions […]
Classroom Management
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Classroom Engagement: Signals that Work
It’s my favorite lesson to plug into the start of the school year. Before I start I want to say that, in the tradition of great teachers and great teaching, I totally stole this and then adapted it to suit my needs. This writing will deal with the idea itself, how and why I have […]
Posted inHigh School
Don’t Forget Us: A Letter to Principals
I have taught under four principals in my short career, and unfortunately, none of them has inspired me to be a better educator. Tragically, all but one have contributed to my loss of faith in our current education system. When I pursued this career, I imagined my administrators to be like the Hall Directors at […]
Posted inFeatured
Using Open Classes in OUR Classrooms
I love to learn. I would be the person in college for the rest of my life if I could fit it in with everything else I do. So when I came across Harvard’s open classes, I was in heaven. Several universities, many Ivy League, offer open classes that are free online and can be […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
School Safety Doesn’t Mean What You Think
School safety is paramount to most parents. They want to believe that their children can go to school, get an education and not be bullied or threatened. The current problem in our schools is that those who make decisions about the safety of schools seem to be more focused with attacks from strangers rather than […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Common Core, Elementary School, English Language Learners, ESOL, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Literacy, Special Education, Technology
5 Ways to Use Emojis in the Classroom
I realized almost immediately that I wasn’t getting through to my Kindergartners… again. I asked a class full of 5-year-olds to identify feeling words, and I got the same generic responses – happy, sad, mad. Year after year, I struggle with how to teach my primary students, especially my English Language Learners, to use precise […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Instructional Strategies
[The Rural School Chronicles] A Toolbox for Working With Challenging Students
At the beginning of this year, I noticed a boy who is in one of the homerooms I work closely with. Stationed at the end of a hall to watch students as they come in, near his room, I would see him approach. Head down, eyes down, every day; a look on his face that […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Common Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Uncategorized
Standardized Protesting
Most Americans are quite aware of their First Amendment rights, namely their freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. One of the most often overlooked freedoms in that all-too-important amendment is the freedom to protest, and it’s something that teachers should consider when it comes to standardized testing. They can standardized […]