This past week marked the thirteenth anniversary of 9/11. My first and second graders haven’t a clue about what this terrorist attack on the United States meant. Some adults still don’t realize it either, for that matter. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to remember that these kids are only six and seven. I liken it to […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Parents, Principals' Corner
Dealing With Death
My husband has been a high school teacher for twelve years. During his fifth year, several of his students from the soccer team were killed in a car accident. The driver lost control of his car, went through a barrier, flipped the jeep and landed in a ravine full of water. A few years later, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured
All Professions Deserve Summers Off
It’s amazing how many non-teacher Americans get angry, frustrated, and even downright rude about a teacher’s summer. When June comes around, so follows resentment. The vitriol is then repeated in late August when students report back to school. But here’s the thing – these people need to channel their criticisms towards producing a greater cultural shift. […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
CA Bill Addresses Suspensions and Expulsions
Millions of students get suspended from school every year – and it is mostly students of color. According to the US Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, 16% of black students are suspended every year, compared to 5% of white students. When a student is suspended, he or she falls further behind in school, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Social Studies
A Call for National History Day
All teachers search for that moment when what you do in the classroom raises administrators’ eyebrows, students’ hopes, and the goosebumps on our own skin. These pivotal moments in our interconnected lives show us – emotionally – that our job is more than just worksheets and pencil sharpeners; it’s changing lives. One of the most remarkable […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Special Education
10 Things Only a Special Education Teacher Would Understand
By: Teresa Cooper Whether you’re a co-teacher, a resource teacher, a life skills teacher, an Autism specialist, or a behavior support specialist, you know that working as a special education teacher comes with a special set of skills and that things exist in our world that other teachers just don’t understand. As a tribute to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum
The Beauty of Mistakes
I still do spelling tests in my classroom. I know some schools have gotten away from weekly spelling tests, for one reason or another. I feel that it is an important skill to continue through all grades. We are two weeks into school, the second spelling test, and it happened. One of my overachievers melted […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Teaching Ferguson: Resources for High School
We cannot help but return to school with heavy hearts and confused minds over the events that took place early last month in Ferguson, Missouri. And yet we should not be silent about it in the classroom – for the good that can come out of this is the opportunity to demonstrate for students the […]