I just got back from a fascinating conference about the state of STEM in U.S. schools, sponsored by U.S. News and World Report! I was compelled by the idea of a STEM revolution in higher education; as a middle school teacher, it really didn’t occur to me that colleges would be reacting in a similar […]
High School
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching the Environment in the Social Studies and Humanities (and Everywhere Else)
When we get close to the end of the year I like to leave my students with a bit of reflection for the future. In a matter-of-fact and “non-preachy” way, I tell them that the most crucial issue that their generation will inherit is the environment. In fact, despite what students hear from many political […]
Posted inHigh School
13 Reasons Why: Conflicting Reviews
Jay Asher’s 13 Reason Why was the first young adult novel I read during my student teaching. When the librarian spoke to my freshmen about novels for a choice project, I was drawn to the premise of the story: Before completing suicide, a sixteen-year-old girl (Hannah) records the reasons for her choice on audiotapes and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Mathematical Conversations Aid Problem Solving
Mathematical conversations are among the most important connections that make math about solving problems instead of just calculating answers. They include discussions of how a problem was solved and whether or not the answer makes sense. Often teachers shy away from mathematical conversations thinking they will lead to students talking instead of working. In this second […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teaching Black Consciousness and White Privilege
One matter we have gotten over very quickly as a country is the notion, beginning in 2008 and carried throughout the Obama presidency, that we now live in a “post-racial” society. The fact that an African American was twice-elected to the nation’s highest office gave rise to the idea that racial discord can now be […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Stories that Live in our Hearts
We all have stories that live in our hearts. Stories we come back to over and over again for inspiration, comfort, and assurance that we do make a difference. Stories that represent and remind us of the love we have for our students, for our profession. One of my favorite stories is from early in […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Yes, Failure IS An Option
We’d be hard pressed to find an innovation that has changed our modern living as much as the light bulb. When Thomas Edison and his employees experimented with methods to bring about an incandescent light, they finally arrived – almost by accident – on using a cardboard filament. After its success, he famously quipped “I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Six Books for Secondary Teachers on Teaching Students to Read
Teaching how to read used to be considered the job of elementary teachers. They would teach the students to read; secondary teachers would teach students literature assuming students know how to read it. However, it has become clear that teaching students how to read doesn’t end when students enter junior high school. In fact, since 50% of […]