It is the end of the school year and every teacher is utterly exhausted. Yes, all of us. We are proud of our students, but the end of the school year is a trying time. As we finish up the school year, we wonder did we do enough. Are our students ready to move on […]
Featured
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Facilitating vs. Teaching
Facilitating in the classroom is a different bird than teaching in front of the class. When most people think of teaching, they picture an adult standing in front of a classroom giving information to students. That is exactly the picture that I have from my K-12 school days. For many decades, when public education was […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Bathroom Battle Is Coming to Your School – Are You Ready?
When the U.S. Dept. of Education issued its “Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students,” it essentially asserted that transgender bathroom rights will be an issue that schools are expected to solve. This upcoming fall will no doubt make school bathrooms a boiling issue. Will you be ready for it? Schools have not been asked to take up a rights’ issue of this magnitude since Brown […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Can Teachers Give Up Power and Keep Their Authority?
When I started teaching in 2007, I came in with very democratic ideals. I wanted my classroom to be a place where kids’ voices were honored. But as a first-year teacher with just seven weeks of training to prepare me, I was totally unequipped to make this vision a reality. At the end of that […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
The Benefits of an Individualized Approach
I’ll never forget the first year I started teaching. I was slightly skeptical of the whole process, although I believed in it (because I am the product of the Montessori school I now direct) millions of thoughts swarmed my head. “Teachers are ‘guides’ in the classroom and educational process,” “How am I going to keep 40 […]
Posted inHigh School
What I Have Learned: Farewell Letter to My Students
Over the past few weeks, my students have made certain that I leave feeling valued and loved; they have thrown parties, brought treats, serenaded me with songs, given speeches, written encouraging notes, and presented me with heartfelt gifts. Teachers have commented that they have never seen students express their gratitude in these ways. We have […]
Posted inFeatured
Lit Circles in the Middle: Procedures for Middle School Literature Circles
This is my second year trying Literature Circles with my students. The first time, two years ago, I had seniors. They were extremely motivated and self-sufficient. I gave them a checklist of things I wanted them to produce, I sat in on their discussions, and they went really well. This year I am trying it […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teachers Must Take on Trump
As a teacher, I’ve always felt pressure to keep my personal political views out of my classroom. In fact, in New York City’s public schools the Chancellor’s Regulations which lay out a wide range of rules, regulations and policies, explicitly forbids teachers from mixing any sort of political activity with their teaching. But lately, it’s become […]