My hands were shaking as the bell rang for the first day of the 2020-2021 school year. I know it sounds cliche to say that my hands were shaking. Everyone writes that their hands were shaking to indicate nervousness but I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that my hands were literally shaking so hard […]
COVID-19
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Genius Hour: A Perfect Way to Make Virtual Learning BURST!
In the beginning … On this particular day in my classroom, you would have found a service dog standing faithfully by their owner as she explained how her dog detected her insulin levels. Or you might notice a laptop flashing intricate patterns of code while a robot zoomed up to you carrying a piece of […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Mentoring: It’s Time To Rethink Para-Educators
Mentoring. Recently, several articles have appeared suggested mentoring may be a way to help with the academic loss that educators are calling the “covid slide”. That’s abuzz too, and for good reason. But I’m just as concerned, if not more so, about Natasha, who even in class is so incredibly shy that she can barely […]
Posted inBack to School
Whichever Way You Cut It School in 2020 is Hard
Guest Writer: Dr. Noor Ali, Principal, Al-Hamra Academy Fall 2020 school reopening has been a tricky, tricky business. It has been a time of untold stress and unfathomable planning. It has required flexing of all our known boundaries and delving into the great uncertainty that only a pandemic could unleash. From is this really a health […]
Posted inAdult Learning
Mr. Rogers Was a Genius, Virtual Learning Showed Me How
By Thomas Courtney When I was a child, Mr. Rogers taught me how I was a part of my community through the magic of TV. Mr. Rogers would take us to the post office to see how mail was sorted. He would take us to a factory to see how things like tomatoes were canned […]
Posted inBack to School
Teamwork Makes the “COVID-Dream” Work
Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year. Here you will find: rules that change on an hourly basis, not enough PPE for staff and students, continued interrupted internet connection, and limited time to use the restroom. The first two months of our hybrid model have been a whirlwind. When asked how school is this year, I […]
Posted inOpinion
The F Word: Feminism in 2020
The F Word: Feminism in 2020 I’ll never forget the moment I explained feminism to a freshman boy. In my first year of teaching, a precocious student asked me why I used “Ms.” in my name. My partner and I are committed to each other without the institution of marriage and childless by choice. But, […]
Posted inAdult Learning
What it Means to be a Principal During a Pandemic
Guest Writer: Dr. Noor Ali, Principal, Al-Hamra Academy Of course, nobody prepared school leaders for a pandemic-sized crisis. This is understood. Nobody is ever prepared for the exception. We prepare for the norm, and if we’re adventurous, we plan to push the envelope on the norm to create a change agency. We calculate, evaluate, and […]