School has started! I absolutely love what I do. As I prepared for my new crop of kiddos I made the rounds to my normal haunts to purchase ‘new stuff’ for my classroom. I always get excited about getting new things for my students. Whether its games or art supplies, I anxiously await the smiles […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, From the Front Lines, High School, Uncategorized
Meet the Parents: A Young Teacher’s Back to School Night
When people find out I teach high school, they often reply with some surprise, “but you look like a high school student yourself!” I sigh, they tell me I’ll be thankful for my youthful appearance as I get older, and we move on – but through these interactions, I am constantly reminded of the additional […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, From the Front Lines
Going Back to School Renewed and Empowered, Not Burnt Out
By Guest Writer: Arpine Ovsepyan Back-to-school season is officially here. Thousands of students, parents, teachers, and administrators say good-bye to the carefree summer days and hello to the structure and routine of school. As you prepare for this transition, it is vital to take some time and reflect on how to make this a season […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Uncategorized
Propaganda Used in Campbell Brown's Attack on Teacher Tenure
When I teach Animal Farm by George Orwell I have the opportunity to teach propaganda techniques. I provide the students with the definitions and examples of several different types of propaganda techniques. Then, as we read, I have them find these techniques in the novel. Students also find and share propaganda in advertisements they see in other media, on TV […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured
Why Robin Williams Helped Me Be a Teacher and an Adult
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Since I write for an education magazine, there isn’t always a need to write about celebrity news. But when I heard the news that Robin Williams had passed away on August 11th, I felt […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
John Keating is Dead and Yet He Echoes in My Ears
I am thirty-eight years old and until yesterday I never knew what it felt like to experience a throbbing and palpable sadness over the death of a celebrity. Superlatives abound on a global scale for a man who embodied a form of dramaturgical genius that is perhaps the most eclectic of our time. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines
Assigning Public Speaking Isn't Teaching
By Erik Palmer I am concerned about student oral communication. Students don’t generally speak well and almost all of them fear or hate presenting. I also think about the speaking and listening standard of the Common Core State Standards. I realize that so far I am alone in focusing on this standard but I truly […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Middle School, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Just the Facts: Charter High School Performance in Memphis, TN
My school has a strong data driven culture. We use data not just to identify grade level or class wide trends, but trends with individual students. Because it’s not enough for me to know that the entire class scored, say, an 80 percent on a specific assessment. I need to be able to identify high, […]