History and government are central to the curriculum of a liberal education found in K-16 school systems. We teach these subjects to young people so that they can understand the world around them. These are critical disciplines as we prepare students to contribute to society in a meaningful way, and we engage students on these […]
High School
Posted inHigh School
“Run, Hide (Barricade), Fight.” – Our New School Violence Reality
“Mom, it is like this happens every week.” “Mommy, we hid in our cubbies today.” My oldest child, the author of the first quote is astute; my younger child, the author of the latter, more innocent. Both, however, have learned that the world is violent; that their schools might be locations of a mass shooting. […]
Posted inHigh School
When Students Provide Perspective
Sometimes, I feel like I need a little perspective. Some days, I come home from work exhausted. Especially this week, the week before Thanksgiving Break. This is not something that is unique to me. All week, I have seen posts on social media from other teachers that are feeling the same way. With daylight savings […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Teaching Freshman Students How to Filter Themselves
The Freshman Filter Teaching freshmen students can be a very strange challenge at times. When I started teaching, I remembered that freshman year was one of the changes. I’ll be honest; one of the things that made me want to teach middle school or freshman in high school was the way students in this age […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Yes, Breaking Up (with a text) is Hard to Do
It’s not you. It’s the text. It’s moving on…to another grade level. “I just don’t understand why….” you catch your breath, “it’s been the only book I liked …no, I loved… to teach.” You pause, ‘Why does it have to leave?” After all, you and the book have been together for school years. You […]
Posted inBack to School
They’re More than Monuments… Reconsidering History in Classrooms
by: Daniel Osborn History educators are returning to their classrooms this fall after a summer that was full of discord surrounding the fate of monuments venerating Confederate leaders. The removal or proposed removal of statues from New Orleans, Louisiana to Charlottesville, Virginia exposed social divisions and revealed the divergent historical narratives told in this country. […]
Posted inFine Arts, High School, Literacy
The Novels I Use to Teach Secondary English
The Novels I Use to Teach Secondary English There are lots of wonderful things about teaching high school English. One of those is that I get to use a lot of fun novels to help my students reach the standards they need to achieve. To make it fun, I tried to pick a wide variety […]
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 […]