Maybe this sounds harsh, but if you haven’t attempted to teach young people in the era of smartphones; if you haven’t competed with their ubiquitous presence, compulsive aura, and endless usage, then you probably don’t know what you are talking about regarding teaching, pedagogy, or education in general. If you haven’t had students become borderline […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inElectives & Special Areas
Using Popular Music in the Secondary Classroom
Teachers born between 1950 and 1980 makeup both the baby-boom generation and those known as “Generation X.” The music with which they grew up is a reflection of the historical periods that produced it – Vietnam, the Cold War, the Fall of Communism, September 11, 2001, and the events that followed. Teachers of social studies […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Social Studies in a Political Era
“Build the wall! Build the wall! Build the wall!” Several of my 8th-grade students chanted President Trump’s campaign slogan several times when I explained to the students our next unit would be on immigration. One student, perhaps the brightest I’ve ever taught, approached me after class that day and asked me, bluntly, “Mr. Miller, what […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Reflections on My First Black History Month
I am forty-four-years-old. I have been a social studies teacher for 23 Septembers. I have been a student of history all of my life. I have cared about civil rights forever. But, before this February, I have never celebrated Black History Month. I am both ashamed of my ignorance and enlightened by this experience–it is […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
If That’s What it Takes, Students Should Be Outspoken, Feisty, and Rebellious
I’m mad. I’m furious. And I feel alone. According to EveryTown for Gun Safety Support Fund, “Since 2013, there have been nearly 300 school shootings.” How did we get here? How did we get to a society which broadcasts more violence and hatred than kindness and generosity? A society where people are more likely to turn […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
How My Teachers Saved My Life
I’m a proud graduate of Panther Valley High School, which a website labeled the “6th worst district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” Nestled in the brown belt, coal region of our state, it has suffered economic and social turmoil for decades now. That said, I don’t care one bit about what that website says, the […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Dear Generation X: It is Now, or Never.
I see us on Facebook. On the soccer field. In the classroom. We are the generation born between 1961–1981. We are now finally of age. We thought adulthood began at 18, but that was just a stepping stone. No, we are now parents, for fuck’s sake. We are in charge. Many of us are educators. […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
[Opinion] America’s Gun Problem: What Can Teachers Do?
It’s been a tough week. If you are a teacher, student or parent in an American public school, the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people is just as upsetting as the mass shooting that came before it. Memories of the Las Vegas shooting, the Orlando Pulse shooting, San Bernardino, Virginia Tech, Aurora, […]