I can still remember how I felt as I looked at the tears falling from one of my brightest students as she sat in her assigned seat for the Georgia Milestones Assessment last spring. Because I was mandated to sign my life away on a form acknowledging the serious nature of standardized testing, all I […]
How to Fix Education
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Vote for the Voteless: Off-Year Elections Do Matter
When I was in fourth grade, my class participated in the Center for Civic Education’s Project Citizen Program. Groups of students “identify a public policy problem in their community. They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a political action plan to […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Is Teaching Even About Teaching Anymore?
“Teaching isn’t even about teaching anymore.” When these words flowed from my fellow coworker’s mouth, I felt my heart skip a beat. She was absolutely right. Although I’m still considered a newbie in this game called teaching, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Teaching Has Become a Business From my limited view, I […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Opinion: Why Teachers Shouldn’t Write Curriculum
The word “curriculum,” as it pertains to education, can include everything from the materials used to teach our students to the planned learning experiences. If we think of the Common Core standards as the academic destination for our students (the “what” we want them to know and be able to do), our curriculum is the […]
Posted inHigh School
The Great American School Shuffle
I am a bit of an eavesdropper. When I hear the word school uttered in a conversation near me, I perk up. Like a prairie dog popping out of its hole, my neck lengthens, and I turn my head towards the speaker. My nosey nature concerning talk of education has led me to two observations: A majority […]
Posted inLGBTQ+
Why We Need LGBTQ+ Inclusive Classrooms
The PBS Kids show “Arthur,” which began in 1996, recently aired an episode in which Arthur’s teacher, Mr. Ratburn, marries his partner who turns out to be a man. Although this isn’t the first children’s program with openly gay characters, it got me thinking: if there are increasing numbers of LGBTQ+ characters in children’s television, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
What Teacher Choice in PD Should Look Like
We all know how it feels to attend a half-hearted PD session we don’t think will be useful in our classrooms. Maybe it’s the content that feels irrelevant or the structure of the session. Whatever the cause, teachers are tired of attending PD that doesn’t fit our personal needs or the needs of our school […]
Posted inCollege and Career
Activists Are Needed in Education
The year: 1980 Activists in education are needed now more than ever. I was thirteen years old when I saw this coming. A smug ex-actor with Brylcreemed hair dropped a condescending line in a presidential debate. That isn’t a big deal by itself, especially when you consider how low the presidential decency bar currently is. […]