To buy Cari’s book that details her sudden unemployment, “How to Finish the Test When Your Pencil Breaks” please click here. As a teacher who has been out of work for almost two years now, I find the holidays bring an interesting sense of out-of-sync timing. I can clearly remember the visceral relief at the […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Raising Boys' Achievement Involves More Male Teachers
It’s no shock to any reader, teacher, or parent to learn that boys are not just falling behind; they’re sinking. In the middle school where I teach, of our nearly 1,100 students, roughly 80% of the special education students are male. More than 2/3 of the students failing classes are male. More than 75% of […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Principals' Corner, Uncategorized
Use Your Holiday Break to Get Political
This summer at my first PSEA Summer Leadership Conference (our union getaway in Gettysburg, PA), I heard what was probably the most interesting speech in years. The president of Student PSEA, a college senior about to begin her student-teaching that fall, talked about politics and education. She said that, while in high school leading up […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Stellar Educator of the Week, Uncategorized
Our Stellar Educator for the Holidays: YOU!
Name: You! Years Teaching: Plenty of Years! Specialty: Every specialty under the sun! Congratulations to YOU, our Stellar Educator for the Holidays! This has been a particularly challenging school year so far for teachers around the country. The year started with more murmurings and condemnations of teachers as educators in Chicago and other districts tried […]
Posted inElementary School, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, New Teacher Bootcamp
Assessments—Using Incentives to Change the Image
Assessments…it’s almost become a dirty word in education. Those of us in the trenches know assessments are necessary and have a purpose. We understand there are different types of assessments that guide our instruction, help us focus students on their learning objectives, and show us where re-teaching and extension need to take place. Everyone has […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Social Studies
Voices of our Past: How Primary Documents Can Make Lessons Come Alive
What if we could sit at the feet of Socrates and ask him philosophical questions? What if we could have a conversation about agricultural design with Thomas Jefferson, or about the rule of law with John Adams? What if we could sit in a room and listen to Frederick Douglass explain his experiences and […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
Let the Nurturers Nurture
There were some amazing stories of human courage and compassion that came out of the horrors in Newtown, Connecticut. Teacher Vicki Soto gave her precious young life to protect her tiny first graders. Shielding them from harm was her first instinct and her last act. In the face of terror unimaginable, her instinct to protect […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Let's Just Sit Down and Talk! The Socratic Discussion: Creative Implementation of Common Core Assessment
One of the most misunderstood aspects of implementing Common Core standards is that they are about learning goals, not methods. This opens up lots of possibilities for including the standards in assessments across the curriculum. The standards currently include core skills and knowledge in Reading, Writing, and Math. However, the idea is not to limit […]