Many times I’m asked what it’s like to work in an urban school in an urban area. Knowing they are genuinely interested, I usually just laugh and tell them to come visit my my classroom. Knowing the 99.9% of them won’t, I decided to give a real “no holds barred” look at what a day is like […]
High School
Posted inCharter Schools, High School
Student Emotional Support: Being Available (Charter School Diaries #16)
Week 4/22-4/26 When I became a teacher, I originally thought that I would be just that… I desired to teach my students about more than just history, but about life, yet I didn’t exactly appreciate the roles I would acquire when teaching about life. I thought I would only be a teacher, but I became a counselor, […]
Posted inFeatured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
4 Rules for Working in a High Poverty Environment
My life changed forever when I decided to take a position as a teacher in the largest school district in Tennessee, Memphis City Schools. From the moment I took the position, I had people question if I was “ready” to work in an high poverty environment where many of the students came from backgrounds that […]
Posted inCharter Schools, High School
Confrontations, Conflict & Anger Management (Charter School Diaries #15)
Week 4/15-4/19 Our lives are not without confrontations and conflict. Confrontations and conflict, although many times unpleasant, is a part of the human experience. People are dynamic and adaptive individuals; one minute we’re hot, the next we’re cold and our moods and desires shift with the way we feel physically and emotionally. Add a number […]
Posted inCharter Schools, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Watch out for the "Saviors" (Charter School Diaries #14)
Week 4/8-4/12 [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”] I have a son. He is developing and growing before my very eyes and it is the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. Over the course of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School, Opinion
We Need a New Progressive Era for our 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”] Recently, a blog post written by Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann called “18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children” hit the internet big time. In it, Dr. Berchelmann explains why it […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Opinion, The Unemployed Teacher
The Unemployed Teacher: Life After High School
–an installment in the ongoing series The Unemployed Teacher— I enjoyed a two hour coffee get together with one of my former students the other day. I was so energized after that meeting – and as I reflected on how proud I was of the path my student had followed after graduating from high school, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Opinion
What Frustrates Me About Non-Public Schools
This article is published simultaneously with its partner article, “What Bothers Me About Public Schools“ Let me preface this article by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form opposed to private or charter schools. There’s a school for every child on this planet, and for some students, it’s not a public […]