“Mrs. Warren, I love you!” Andrew (one of my students) yelled as I gave him a high five after connecting the events to the story in A Lesson Before Dying and the trial of Troy Davis. The other kids laughed at his outburst, but we kept moving so that we could finish the discussion and […]
High School
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Uncategorized
The Loneliness of the Post College New Teacher
“The weekends are the hardest.” a young, new coworker friend of mine said, “I think I’ll get another dog, it’s too lonely.” I remember reading somewhere that some of the loneliest people in the world are those of the newly graduated college student, and it seemed that my young, coworker friend was no different. It made sense […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School
High School Classroom Management 101: Building Relationships
Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships. Stephen Covey from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Uncategorized
Teachers Observing Teachers – A Closer Look
“How can we ask ourselves to go observe other teachers in other buildings, when we don’t even observe the teachers in our own building?” This question was recently thrown out by me at a PLC meeting where we were discussing teacher actions that we can take as part of our goal for our Professional Learning Community. When the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School, Uncategorized
An Organizational Structure That Works in Urban Schools
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Many people will tell you that urban schools can’t succeed without involved parents, motivated students, adequate supplies, and a safe neighborhood. While all of these factors would make the success of […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, High School, Literacy, Uncategorized
Teacher Professionalism (With a Twist of Occasional Humor)
I once read a quote that said, “People think I’m crazy, but I like to think of myself as normal with a twist of awesome!” Because I have an outgoing, flowery personality, I honestly feel that some people DO think I’m crazy, but the way I look at it is that someday I’ll be six feet under […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Teaching Ferguson: Resources for High School
We cannot help but return to school with heavy hearts and confused minds over the events that took place early last month in Ferguson, Missouri. And yet we should not be silent about it in the classroom – for the good that can come out of this is the opportunity to demonstrate for students the […]
Posted inFeatured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Middle School
Rainbow it Up! The Color-Coded Essay
As a secondary English teacher, I teach many pieces of academic enrichments within my curriculum, but my main passion tends to fall at the feet of writing. When I began teaching middle school English a handful of years ago, writing was barely a blip on the radar as we had so much pressure to pass a […]