The area in which I teach can be viewed from the outside as your typical agricultural region: farms, tractors, cowboy boots, Southern accents, etc. Newcomers feel wary of the locals and of being treated like outcasts; meanwhile, locals feel wary of newcomers and of being treated like simpletons. Truth is, life is more complex than […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Middle School, Opinion
Take a Moment to Stop – And Enjoy the End of the School Year!
“Hey Jake,” Bill, our school custodian, stopped me as I sped down the hallway with a list of things to accomplish, “did you see the beautiful, blooming dogwood out in front of the school?” “Yeah, it looks great,” I said as I shrugged him off in ways only busy teachers understand. “I’m serious man, come […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Opinion
The Truth Behind the Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal
By now the headlines have screamed about how teachers and administrators cheated in Atlanta Public Schools (APS) to falsify results from the CRCT exams in elementary and middle schools. As a teacher who worked in APS for several years, these headlines literally make my stomach turn. Despite the claims about answer changing parties, administrators who […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
A 9-year old Student Speaks Truth to Power About the Chicago School Closings
[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”] In an historic, unprecedented move, the third largest school district in the United States has experienced an impressively harsh blow to its students, teachers, and parents: the Chicago Board of Education […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School
The Final Countdown! Activities for the Last Days of School
May always comes in with a gust and flies by. I scramble to reflect on the year, cram in last-minute curriculum, organize parents and lunches for field trips & play day, wrap my head around the data that must be collected, input data into spreadsheets, finalize grades & collect back work to finalize grades, make thank […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Knowing the Ending Need Not Be a Spoiler
Enter the spoiler alert. Because the number of ways people hear about stories is increasing, spoiler alerts for books and films are offered as a “heads-up,” a means to prevent plot details from becoming public. Knowing the end of a story might mean that the strategy of “predicting” a story has been compromised. However, there are genres […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Featured, Middle School
Modeling Respectful Behavior (Charter School Diaries #17)
Week 4/29 – 5/3 I am a loner at work… well, maybe it is better said that I don’t go out of my way to be seen. I really just keep to myself; chalk that up to the fact that I am an only child. I really don’t want to be bothered with people – […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Middle School, Uncategorized
A Day in the Life of a Teacher in An Urban School
Many times I’m asked what it’s like to work in an urban school in an urban area. Knowing they are genuinely interested, I usually just laugh and tell them to come visit my my classroom. Knowing the 99.9% of them won’t, I decided to give a real “no holds barred” look at what a day is like […]