“I find your lack of substitutes disturbing.” Read that in a Darth Vader voice the next time you have to take off, and you’ll feel exactly the type of difficulty that I mean. It’s been 6 years since I wrote my story about how “Lack of Subs Is the Canary in the Coal Mine,” and […]
Featured
Posted inChild Development
Student Agency- The Essence of a Modern Classroom
Sanam Edwards is a teacher in DPS International, Gurgaon (India). She enjoys building the student’s voice and choice within the classroom environment while infusing her quirky sense of humor into daily activities. She is an advocate for technology in the classroom and is constantly on the lookout for new ways to engage the students emotionally, […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Higher Education, How to Fix Education
[Opinion] Teaching is Not for the Faint of Heart
Courtney Frausto is a 6th-grade ELAR teacher in Texas. She is strong-willed and determined to be her best at everything that she does. She loves a challenge and is always looking to master a new skill. She has a passion for teaching and a love that runs deep for her students. When Courtney is not […]
Posted inInterviews
Interviewing Schools to Find the Best Fit For You
As hiring season for the next school year approaches, it’s time to have a real conversation about teacher interviews. When we interview for a position we often focus on convincing the place we want to work to hire us. The spotlight is on you to knock it out of the park and come off as […]
Posted inFeatured
Black Square Boxes: Affirming the Identity of Students During a Pandemic
Michele Lamons-Raiford is a hearing American Sign Language (ASL) teacher at Pinole Valley High School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. She has been a High School teacher for the past nineteen years, previously teaching all levels of English, as well as an Adjunct English Instructor at Solano Community College for the past […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 3 – First Things First
My friend and former student-teacher called me the other week: “I need to vent to you for 10 minutes.” “We were supposed to get the vaccine once our meetings finished today. I received a text at 12:50p telling me the window for the vaccine was 1p-4p. As I was heading out the door, I received […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 2 – Begin with the End in Mind
When I studied for my M.Ed. in Leadership, the lasting lesson that I pulled from my coursework was from a program called Understanding By Design (now called “Backward Design”). It essentially advocates effective teaching is to lesson plan by beginning with the outcome – whether for the year, unit, week, or lesson. Why? The most […]
Posted inTeacher Self Care
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers: Habit 1 – Be Proactive
In the children’s book Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, author Judith Viorst’s protagonist Alexander continually falls victim to an awful 24-hour period, saying things like: “I fell asleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair,” “All the other kids had cupcakes, Hershey bars, and other desserts, […]