Passion-Led Learning: It was the middle of the second day of my professional development workshop, and I was about to dismiss my participants for a well-deserved lunch break when loud music suddenly filled the room. My head snapped toward the cacophony of sound, expecting to see a teacher embarrassingly fumbling with a cell phone that […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Banned Books Week: The Most Banned Books in 2022
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe: Gender Queer: A Memoir is a 2019 graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe’s journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author’s exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifying as being outside of the gender binary. Reasons for bans: LGBTQIA+ content claimed to be sexually explicit All Boys […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Case for More Accountability: It’s Time to Blame the Parents
As you read this headline, I know you cringed- so did I as I wrote it. But as I grapple with retiring after 25 years in the classroom due to student (and parent) misbehavior, it’s something that I feel uniquely qualified to say. There will be some people who will not hear what I’m saying, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
5 Tips for Welcoming First-Time Virtual Students
Virtual learning has its share of issues–slow internet, social disconnection, a lack of cohesion between teacher and student.
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
“Unveiling Bias in G.E.D.: The Untold Stories of History
A professor revisits standardized testing, immigration policy, and the salience of Paulo Freire in times of cultural war. This is in a series on a teacher’s experience teaching a cross-cultural G.E.D. To read the first article, click here. One issue surrounding the G.E.D. has gotten shorter shrift among educators and academics: the test’s somewhat jingoistic […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Beyond the Test: LeBron James I Promise School is Transforming Lives…and Being Scrutinized for It.
I Promise School: In the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of Akron, Ohio, students can’t seem to pass the state standardized math test. They also struggle to get three meals daily, adult supervision, or a physically and emotionally safe place to live. Children living in poverty suffer from chronic stress and poor nutrition. They rarely visit a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Education, Labor Departments Announce New Efforts to Advance Teacher Preparation Programs
In a series of new efforts, the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor announced to expand Registered Apprenticeships for educators and invest in teacher preparation programs. The efforts focus on a key focus area of the Department of Education’s Raise the Bar: Lead the World initiative to improve learning conditions by eliminating educator shortages. “Teacher apprenticeships are […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Reframing the First 6 Weeks of School from a Student Buy-In Perspective
Years ago, as an education major, I took copious notes on the importance of “the first six weeks of school” to increase student buy-in. There are even entire books written on the weight these initial weeks carry. As a hopeful, fresh-faced 21-year-old, I fully bought into the magical school year one could have if you […]