Imagine this: You’re a beginning teacher, fresh out of college. You’ve done a few weeks (maybe a semester) of teaching on your own. You’re thrilled to be hired to teach in your own classroom. You can disregard the low starting pay and the multiple subjects you need to prepare to teach every day. This is […]
From the Front Lines
Posted inBook Review
Book Review: Teach Like A Champion 2.0
The book Teach Like A Champion is one that many educators have read, or, at the very least, heard of. This especially rings true for our classroom leaders who teach in urban schools. The first edition launched in 2010 by Doug Lemov, a teacher and administrator for the Uncommon Schools initiative, this book chronicles Lemov’s attempts to […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
My Journal From Working in a Rural School- Entry One
Mr. McConnell’s Rural Schools Journal Entry 1 (7/7/2016) What it looks like, lives like, what I’ve seen In a rural area, the suppression and exclusion of the hardest working and neediest among us can readily be seen in almost any school that serves struggling populations. It probably looks different and it comes at you different, […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Know Your Teacher Worth
I have an absolutely amazing older son. When my ex-husband left, Eli was there to help pick up the pieces. When I had my emotional collapse, again Eli came to the hospital everyday and even now continues to keep a close eye on me. He and I are never far from one another, with healthy […]
Posted inFeatured
6 Ways for Teachers to Earn Some Extra Money From Home
It’s the summer and many teachers are thankful for a short break to recalibrate and refocus for the upcoming school year. We are no longer confined to using the restroom in under 30 seconds or eating lunch in 20 minutes. We have actual time to plan and execute our plans for the upcoming year. Despite […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines
Losing Sleep Over Charlotte… Danielson, That Is.
It was my first year back to public school. I had spent so many years in alternative ed, special ed, charter and private schools, and I thought this might be my road to retirement. Until I met Charlotte. Actually, I didn’t so much meet her as I was hit over the head by her Framework […]
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 inTechnology
Google Classroom Part 3: First Year Reflections
I surveyed 42 of my juniors for this article. The questionnaire asked them to comment on benefits and frustrations with Google Classroom and Google Apps. Every student agreed that they felt more connected to students and curriculum by using Google Classroom. Most students said they preferred to virtually collaborate because of convenience, connection to teacher, […]