Sometimes I forget that I have spent my entire adulthood in a two-income household.
How to Fix Education
Teach to the Rest: Three More Ways We Can Use the Pandemic to Transform Schools For the Better- Part 2
By Thomas Courtney Last year, I wrote about the opportunity we had to change the very way in which our schools operated. Twenty years ago, teaching to the test transformed our educational system. To many, the pandemic was simply the last piece of the puzzle that revealed the picture of what our schools had become. […]
We Should Seek to Make Our Schools Communities, Not Substitute Families
“Our school is just like a family.” Nearly every teacher has heard that phrase spoken at interviews or meetings, the comparison of the collective body of faculty, staff, and students to a close-knit family unit. While it is a common sentiment in small schools, I’ve heard plenty of teachers discuss how even their larger schools […]
The “Great Resignation” Is Hurting Teacher Diversity and That Matters More Than You Think
My first teaching job was at a very small private school, where I was the only English teacher for all four grades. I made very little money, our health insurance was threatened by financial woes, and I was severely overworked. I almost left teaching after my third year and I have been forever grateful for […]
Student Discipline: If the students ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy
I remember my first classroom. It was bursting at the seams with posters, fairy lights, rugs, artwork, and anything that I could squeeze onto the walls in hopes of inspiring students to want to learn. My sweet Guinea pig students were not only dealing with me trying to find my feet as an educator, but they also had to battle the distractions they were fighting in trying to pay attention to me amongst the collage of my excitement suffocating them; on all sides!
PBIS, Restorative Justice, AVID: One Size Does Not Fit All
One of the most maddening parts about being in education is watching programs and systems be implemented in different school environments with absolute fidelity. Countless schools have attempted to and failed to bring PBIS, Restorative Justice, AVID, and even different LMS to their campus in an effective manner. While looking for the easy way out […]
ASK A TEACHER: Parents, You Can Decide Where Stimulus Money Goes, Here’s How
Now Is the Time to Join Your School’s Governance Team Here’s Why, and How to Do It The State of California is pumping stimulus money into schools like a kid pumps pencil shavings into the back of his desk. As a teacher, I’d like to see more than my union, or my district decides what […]
[Opinion] Teaching is Not for the Faint of Heart
Courtney Frausto is a 6th-grade ELAR teacher in Texas. She is strong-willed and determined to be her best at everything that she does. She loves a challenge and is always looking to master a new skill. She has a passion for teaching and a love that runs deep for her students. When Courtney is not […]