I am now past ten days of teaching from home. Being away from the students has made the job more difficult. Teaching from home pushes challenges that normally exist in the spotlight. How do I reach the hardest to reach? How do I assess progress (or lack of it)? Remembering that I am still their […]
Elementary School
An elementary school is a primary school for children between the ages of 5-11 and between the grades prekindergarten and secondary education.
Posted inElementary School
The Instructional Programs and Curriculum are Fatally Flawed
By Guest Writer: Jill Jackson Imagine this: You are a teacher who shows up to professional development at the beginning of the school year and are told that the district has chosen the new English Language Arts/Math/Science/Art/P.E. program after a year-long pilot. (I use the word “pilot” very loosely because typically the curriculum pilots have […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
TED Talks All Students Should See
I have lost many hours to the “suggested for you” videos listed on the right side of ted.com. There are times that I believe that their algorithm is broken . . . Really? Do you think I would be interested in “How I became part sea urchin”? More often, however, they nail it. Why, yes, […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Opinion: Why Teachers Shouldn’t Write Curriculum
The word “curriculum,” as it pertains to education, can include everything from the materials used to teach our students to the planned learning experiences. If we think of the Common Core standards as the academic destination for our students (the “what” we want them to know and be able to do), our curriculum is the […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Getting Students to Write (Part 1)
Getting students to write can be difficult. For students who don’t like writing, being confronted with a lengthy writing task will turn down the will and up the resistance quick. Think about it: they are uncomfortable for a reason. Who knows why: unsure of their skills, confused by the task, maybe just uninterested in that […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Why I Worry About My Students
There are a thousand reasons why I worry about my students I had a challenging group this past school year. Generally, my “teacher radar” runs in the background on low intensity-ready to alert me as needed. Off-task behavior or potential disruptions elicit a ping. But with this group, I had to be constantly aware of […]
Posted inLGBTQ+
Why We Need LGBTQ+ Inclusive Classrooms
The PBS Kids show “Arthur,” which began in 1996, recently aired an episode in which Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marries his partner who turns out to be a man. Although this isn’t the first children’s program with openly gay characters, it got me thinking: if there are increasing numbers of LGBTQ+ characters in children’s television, […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
How to Use This Year’s Reflections for Next School Year
The end of the year for a teacher is especially difficult: everyone is tired, the kids are off the rails, there are a plethora of special events going on, and grades are due. Many of us are holding onto our sanity like a life raft. The last thing many people want to think about is […]