We’ve all been there as educators; trying to teach, coach, supervise, or sponsor school events while life inside and outside of the school comes at you full force. Recently my daughter got married. She decided to get married in September, of all times. She is also a teacher, so I really had a hard time […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Languages, Opinion
My Experience with TNCore – the Tennessee State Standards
Tennessee’s State Department of Education adopted standards labeled TNCore, modeled after the controversial Common Core. As an English and Language Arts (ELA) teacher of nine years, I would like to share my experiences with these standards at the high school level. Common Core (CC) was created with good intentions. Its creators wanted to ensure that […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
The Breaking Point of Education
Benjamin Franklin is often attributed to saying “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” The dividends from the investment in American education are long-lasting and truly have changed humankind’s bottom line. From the far-flung 1776 idea that people could govern themselves in a republic to the 21st century one of tying us entirely together […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
Leaving Your Babies to Have Your Baby: Maternity Leave Readiness
Maternity leave as a teacher is different from any other profession. Six weeks of lesson plans are needed and as you already know, just leaving a plan for one day is a struggle. Leaving your students in the hands of another person for six-week is daunting and overwhelming. As a teacher, we have a need […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Uncategorized
A Closer Look at School Choice: The Pennsylvania Story
This is the first in a series on school choice. I am beginning this series of articles with my home state of Pennsylvania where I taught for 30 years and where I have firsthand experience with school choice. The PA Charter School Act School choice came to Pennsylvania through the PA Charter School Act of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Dealing With Dress Code Conflict
One of the most politically charged policies for high school students is dress code, and for good reason. As students enter this stage of their lives, they’ve blazed past adolescence and want to be treated like adults. According to Erikson, they’ve also entered the psychosocial stage of Identity vs. Confusion, trying to find their place […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines
The Petri Dish Is Real: Staying Healthy During the School Year
Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, conducted a 2008 study regarding the germiest jobs in America – and the worst offender was not a sanitation worker, a doctor, or a bank teller – though they all ranked in the top 10. The germiest job in America is that of a teacher. […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instructional Strategies
Bilingual Education: Good For Everyone… and Dangerous Too
Recently The Educator’s Room posted an article for discussion on bilingual education from the Washington Post. The article asked “Why is bilingual education good for rich kids but bad for poor, immigrant kids?” Bilingual education, if you’re not familiar with the term, is teaching a second (or third, or fourth) language through content area instruction […]