I teach in a mild/moderate special education classroom, meaning that all of my kids are on IEPs and have been placed in my room because they meet disability criteria that my school district recognizes. They are able to attend a regular education classroom for all other subjects besides reading, language arts, math and adaptive behavior. […]
Featured
Posted inTeacher Burnout
A Teacher’s Power of Positivity
I’ve spent enough times surrounded by negativity. I’ve gone the other way when the “negative teacher” walks down the hallway. I’ve watched people publicly belittle my profession and union over and again. I’ve led that union and had to open far too many negative emails of plea / help / disdain. I’ve hoped for that […]
Posted inFeatured
How My School Attained Blue Ribbon Status
On Thursday, September 28th, Good Hope Middle School (the school where I teach) was one of 342 schools (35 of the middle or junior high institutions) designated a Blue Ribbon School. Since then, a few of my fellow teachers asked me “How did we earn such a distinction?”, “What does your school do differently?”, or, […]
Posted inBook Review
Book Review: The Smartest Kids in the World
The inside cover of Amanda Ripley’s book asks the question, “What’s it like to be a child in the world’s new education superpowers?” – namely South Korea, Poland, and – yes, of course – Finland. To accomplish this, she follows the lives of three separate American teens who serve as foreign exchange students there. In […]
Posted inBack to School
What Opening 100 Sixth Graders’ Lockers Taught Me About Kids
She was running late for the departing Friday bus. I saw her as she laid there on the floor, sobbing, as other staff members patiently held 100 buses to send the nearly 800 students home for the weekend. “I want my mommmmmmy!” She wailed, with the tears waterfalling down her face. Here lay the sister of […]
Posted inHigh School
It’s Time to Build The Case for More Vo-Tech Classes
A recent PDK poll shows that 82% of Americans support job-skills classes, even if it’s at the expense of academic classes. Additionally, 86% believe schools should offer certificate / licensing programs that lead to jobs. But they’re forgetting one very big thing: this type of education already exists. It’s just that everybody forgets vocational-technical training. And […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Teaching in a Post-Union World
The week before school begins, our education association is fortunate enough to sit down with the new educators hired in our district and encourage them to sign-up for our association. While this seemed pretty cut-and-dry when I was first hired 10 years ago, the discussion has rapidly changed and the difficulty increased. As more educators […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
We Must Teach the Worst of our History; Not Glorify It
As I write this, it’s not yet 24 hours since Charlottesville, Virginia erupted in violence at the hands of white supremacists. What happened there, how we respond to it, and what must happen next is an essential conversation for all Americans, but especially educators. Those white Americans whose reaction was to claim “this isn’t America!” […]