As one of the writers for The Educator’s Room, I participate with all the authors in regular conversations. We share ideas, talk about pedagogy, discuss writing topics, and sometimes even debate politics. That has been especially true in our newly politically-charged world that is so prevalent lately. Our current political discussion (a proper word since […]
Common Core
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Have You Tried Socratic Seminars Yet?
Have you jumped into Socratic Seminars in your classroom yet? If not, I’ve got a few easy tips to help you get started – including a ‘real life’ demo video! If you’re already using Socratic Seminar, maybe I’ve got a way you can snazz yours up and take your students’ thinking a little bit deeper. […]
Posted inCommon Core
Poverty, Parents, Homework and Kitchen Tables
Poverty is more than just an excuse Policymakers and mainstream education reformers have been chronically unwilling to acknowledge education research and evidence indicating the impact of poverty on school children and the need for social and economic reforms. Yet at the same time they demand attention to and respect for the test data they believe […]
Posted inOpinion
Text Evidence in the Common Core: There Are Such Things as Facts
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were released in 2009. They are now seven years old. I will admit that I was not initially enthusiastic about the English Language Arts literacy standards. I felt they were heavy in non-fiction…(no, wait.. heavy in “informational texts”). The CCSS suggested a typical student should have a reading diet filled with informational texts […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Conference Review: National Council for Social Studies
The National Council for Social Studies had its 96th annual conference this past week in Washington, DC. Like the NEA’s Representative Assembly, the assembly is held in the nation’s capital during election years. It marked my first in attendance. Being from central Pennsylvania, I’m fortunate enough to be able to drive to the District of […]
Posted inCommon Core
Dear President Elect Trump, From Your Teachers
It is American Education week. This event is an honor given to teachers one week a year by the National Education Association since 1921. The message this year is about empowering educators, students, and schools across the nation. Educators have been long ignored as experts in education. Empowerment is a timely message this week as we […]
Posted inCommon Core
We Need our Educators Now More than Ever
We desperately need dedicated educators willing to build a career around serving today’s learners and today’s communities-our tomorrow depends on it. Under the guise of “reform”, public education and teaching have been under a years-long attack driven by private interests in collusion with policymakers looking to profit from and gain control of a private education […]
Posted inCommon Core
Have You Been To A #GAFE Summit?
I’ve been teaching for 26 years – English, AVID, Yearbook, Reading, History and any sort of intervention class that gets thrown my way. I’ve been through whole language and back. I’ve survived NCLB. I’ve been trained in teaching the Gifted and Talented, the At-Risk and 21st-century students. And last weekend, I went to my first […]