I am not Michelle Pfeiffer. I don’t wear leather jackets, and I’m not that thin. I am not Hillary Swank. I do have two jobs, but I don’t wear pearls to school. I am not Morgan Freeman. I’m not patrolling my hallways with a baseball bat and locking the doors to keep out the “bad […]
Featured
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Using Experts in My Classroom
When I think about using experts in the classroom, I think about an experience my fourth graders had last year. It was roughly a month into the school year. We had built a community of learning, but at the same time, we were still working on certain fundamentals like listening respectfully to the speaker. But […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
15 Things My 2-Year-Old Taught Me This Year
A few weeks after my son was born in November 2015, I started thinking differently as a teacher. While I don’t think this applies to everyone, I feel like it did – and continues to – make me a better teacher. For the past two years I’ve shared lessons I’ve learned from him as a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Case of the Shrinking Education Department
This year has been challenging for teachers for a myriad of reasons. Research shows stress, PTSD, and mental/emotional health issues are running rampant for teachers around the country. Faced with the Trump Effect, many teachers are not only faced with the stresses and fears of students, but with their own fears about the future of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Challenges of Mental/Emotional Health for Teachers
By: Scott Miller Phoenix When I began teaching, I never once thought about the challenges I would face when it came to mental health and stress. It never crossed my mind that stress would be a factor for a teacher until I had to manage a classroom. During my first five years teaching, I averaged […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Communicating with Parents: Advice From a Teacher Who Is Also a Mother
This school year is a brand new experience for me as a mother and as a teacher. This is the first year where I am sending my five year old daughter off to a public school. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a difficult transition for her, and for me. But something happened her […]
Posted inFeatured, Teacher Burnout
Combatting Exhaustion and Stress to Promote Teacher Wellness
We’ve all been there: dragging our feet, scanning the clock, wishing for an opportunity to just sit down and relax for a few solitary minutes. If you’re a teacher, you’re likely to not have the words, “rest” and “relaxation” in your personal vocabulary. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first week of school, or several […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Can Teachers Hug Students?
I will never forget the most tragic moment in one of my students’ lives. It was the first year I taught, and he was in my homeroom. Nobody expected him to be there that day. Why? Both his parents died in a car accident the day before. And, then – there he was. The first […]