In the previous article, we focused on the first five Secretaries of Education. So far my advanced evalumetrics have rated them the following: 0 Unsatisfactory, 1 Needs Improvement, 3 Proficient, 0 Distinguished, and 1 Incomplete. How will the next 5 Secretaries of Education pan out? Let’s have a look: The 1990s Richard Riley, the sixth […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Book Review: ‘Play Like A Pirate’
I recently met teacher and author Quinn Rollins at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference earlier this month, and the session he led was on incorporating graphic novels into the classroom (you can read more about it in the link above). I’d be interested in teaching with graphic novels since Jeff Kinney’s first Diary of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Chicken Little: The World of Education
Do you remember the childhood story, Henny Penny? Or more commonly known as “Chicken Little?” As the story goes, Henny Penny meets up with several different animals and warns them the sky is falling after being hit on the head by an acorn. Oh! The terror! The fear! The worry…the SKY is falling?! Whatever will […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The U.S. Secretaries of Education, A History: Part I
As President-Elect Donald Trump has been nominating his Cabinet appointments, plenty of contention and consternation has swarmed and surrounded his selection of Mrs. Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. While plenty of articles have been written about her, I was curious to learn more about the Secretaries of Education who preceded her. The Department of Education […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Skills for Survival in Dystopia Part 2: Media Literacy
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, it has become increasingly clear that we are entering an abnormal era of American history. The xenophobia, religious intolerance, and white supremacy, aren’t new to life in America. But, Donald Trump’s presidency has made many of us feel that the “moral arc of the universe” is bending away from […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Surviving Teacher Depression
I think I have it figured out! After 22 years of listening to teachers discuss their depression, I just had to ask myself, “Why do teachers suffer from SO much depression?” Every year, teachers by the thousands report symptoms of depression or anxiety. I’ve expressed this many times myself. While clinical depression is caused by […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
NCTE and ALAN Conference Highlights
I spent the weekend before Thanksgiving in Atlanta, Georgia at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE (ALAN) conferences. As a first-timer, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I have been to local and state-level teacher conferences before as well as national blogging […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Retire Right: 10 Steps to Turning Off the Classroom Lights for Good
I remember the first week I was hired quite well. There was so much going on – I had a curriculum to write, seating charts to generate, copies to make, people to meet, programs to learn, and decorations to hang. The to-do list truly was endless. Thankfully, one of the veteran teachers came into my […]