“The kind of teacher you become will become will directly be related to the kind of teachers you associate with. Teaching is a profession where misery does more than just love company, it recruits, seduces, and romances it. Avoid people who are unhappy and disgruntled about the possibilities for transforming education. They are the enemy of […]
How to Fix Education
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The Positives of Being Sick
I have had a job since I have been legally able to work. I’ve endured the crummy hours, the long shifts, the underpaid positions where the male boss puts you in a corner (literally). And I believe I have a very strong work ethic. I enjoy working. I don’t like to leave tasks undone and […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Understanding the Proposed Education Budget for 2018
In the Spring of 2017, shortly after taking office, Donald Trump proposed an updated budget that could potentially cut education spending by about 13%. With Secretary of Education appointee, Betsy DeVos, along with statements about the Common Core and the budget proposal, many educators and districts are left wondering how these proposed changes will affect […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Despite the Teacher Shortage, Some Educators Need to be Coached out of the Profession
When you are a teacher, it is easy to be so consumed with your classroom that you might not notice the work of your colleagues. You might assume your principal did a great job of hiring your colleagues and they are all working their butts off to do what is best for our students just […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
2018…Helping Teachers Have the Best Year Ever
One year ago, I made the decision to write down what I hoped for The Educator’s Room. It took me many tries, but when I finally hit publish, I was confident that 2017 would be the year where things would become easier for not only the writers of The Educator’s Room but for education as […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
A 3M Philosophy to Be A Great Teacher: Be Meaningful, Measurable, Manageable,
Guest Writer: Archie Wortham, PhD “Never fight unless you have to. Never fight alone. And never fight for long.” This was advice Fox Connor, best remembered as the man who made Eisenhower. Having taught for most of my adult life, I wondered what makes a good teacher. Having served in the military for 20 years, […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Blueprint for Reform: Building the Foundation
Ever since the 2002 reauthorization of ESEA—otherwise known as No Child Left Behind—a day doesn’t pass without talk of education reform. The media tell us our schools are failing students, our teachers are exhausted, and our parents are dissatisfied. As much as we can agree that our nation’s schools are struggling, it is not as […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Administrators: Don’t Move Ineffective Teachers to a Lower Grade; Help Them Improve
Guest Writer: Shawnta S. Barnes The great school mix up is one strategy elementary principals use to remove ineffective teachers from upper elementary grades, the grades where state standardized tests are taken. Apparently, moving these teachers to an ‘easier’ grade will magically fix the problems they faced in their upper-grade classroom. There are a few […]