On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, was killed in the streets of Ferguson, MO. On August 11, just two days later, school was scheduled to begin. As I watched the story unfold over the weekend, I was met with an anger and frustration I had not experienced since Trayvon Martin was […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Parents
Winning Back Public Opinion, One Conversation at a Time
For teachers, Christmas and holiday break is probably getting old – if only because of the discussions had with others. Typically these things go negative pretty quickly, since the general public has delved into a disregard for educators through simplified generalizations as lazy (“must be nice to have the summers off”), union-thug (“must be nice to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Professional Development
An Educator's Checklist: 16 Things To Do in 2016
We’re halfway through the second decade of the 21st century, and, with it, we have much to look forward to: 1.Gaining a fresh start – singer Brad Paisley is credited with saying, “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” Far too often we need a breaking point. Sometimes […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, The International Teacher, The Traveling Teacher
Precision is the Key: My Experiences as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Taiwan
At JinNing Elementary School, there are no custodians. I arrive on my bike each morning around 8:15 to find students, from pre-school to sixth grade carrying out their daily morning cleaning chores, frolicking throughout the school yard raking leaves, mopping floors, or collecting trash. It’s funny to see the students playing in the sudsy […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Social Justice
A Sit Down with BadAss Teachers
Some of the most vocal teachers today are self-professed Badass Teachers, or BATs for short. They’re full of opinions with action to match. We at TER sat down with Marla Kilfoyle, Executive Director and Melissa Tomlinson, Asst. Executive Director to learn more about this movement. Jake Miller, The Educator’s Room: How did Badass Teachers […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Social Justice, Uncategorized
Race and Your School: Why Educators Must Read Between the World and Me
Why Educators Must Read ‘Between the World and Me’ “No one directly proclaimed that schools were designed to sanctify failure and destruction. But a great number of educators spoke of ‘personal responsibility’ in a country authored and sustained by a criminal irresponsibility. The point of this language of ‘intention’ and ‘personal responsibility’ is broad exoneration. Mistakes […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Mathematics
5 Do's and Don'ts for Teaching Elementary Mathematics
Have you ever heard math content specialists say that elementary teachers have poor math content knowledge, but they have great instructional strategies? While this may be seen as harsh but for the most part it is true. Through not fault of their own colleges did not prepare elementary teachers to specialize in mathematics. When a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Going Paperless, Instruction & Curriculum, Series, Technology
Adventures in Going Paperless: Making Assumptions about Digital Literacy
I am an immigrant—digitally speaking. Like many born in the late 70’s, I have fond(ish) memories of hovering over my Brother WP 1400D, busting out a 14 page essay due the next day. I used card catalogs, bound journals, and microfiche for my research. I didn’t even have an email account until college, much less […]