I’ve been thinking about wearing a mask lately. With that, I’ve been thinking about back to school. It’s that time of year for teachers when we’re all thinking even more about the upcoming school year. Rereading our curriculum, getting our classrooms ready…it’s very exciting. But this year, things are different. School districts have begun to […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
This Year Will Be a Lost School Year
Everyone is anxious about the upcoming school year. Parents need and want their kids in school. Teachers miss the personal interactions that define teaching. Truth be told, I think everyone misses the structure and security of having schools open. But, many people realize we don’t have control of a contagious disease ravaging our communities. Instead […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Universities Collaborate on the Biggest Experiment in Higher Ed: Reopening
By Kate Brennan This fall universities across the nation will collaborate on Higher Ed’s largest experiment: opening their doors during a worldwide pandemic. Wittingly or not, faculty and students have been enlisted as the test subjects. Even with coronavirus cases spiking nationally, with proof that individuals of all ages – including children – can die from this highly communicable disease, […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Children Left Behind: Virtual Learning Isn’t the Culprit
Every day there is news about a district extending their remote learning, a company keeping their workers at home for another few months, and more calls for life to start going back to normal despite the bleak situation we find ourselves in. It is understandable to miss “normal” – going shopping could hardly be considered […]
Posted inOpinion
Can You Talk About That in Elementary School?
By: Dr. Rachael Mahmood “Can you really talk about that in elementary school?” My colleagues often ask me. Then think for a moment and confirm, “I don’t think you can!” As an elementary school teacher, I often feel the need to close the door when talking to students about sensitive social justice topics like race, […]
Posted inCOVID-19
They Can’t Fire Us All: Illegal Striking in the Time of COVID-19
All it takes is opening up social media, turning on the news, or checking the headlines to see a parade of opinions about opening up schools in the fall. Unfortunately, the opinion getting the most attention is that teachers should sit down, shut up, and get back in the classroom regardless of the circumstances of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Blame the Teachers: The White House is Delusional When it Comes to Reopening Schools
Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos and President Donald Trump took a bold stand against school closures. After conducting decision-making meetings that supposedly included educators, students, and parents from around the country, each leader made their announcement. Devos stressed the idea that schools needed to be “fully operational” in the fall. She did […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Everybody Has Lost Their Damn Mind Around the Reopening of Schools
As a teacher, I am expected in less than 16 days to leave my children at home and risk my life to teach high school math to a group of 150+ smiling (and sometimes snarky) 15 year-olds. I’m expected to accommodate students throughout the day in small groups, all while continually assessing their areas of […]