There was no way to know precisely how the world would change when the novel virus Covid-19 began to take hold globally. Economies were shut down, many people lost their jobs, people got sick, people died, national lockdowns went into effect, and schools closed three months early in March 2020. Common Core is no Longer […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching During a Global Pandemic: Addressing Hunger, Homelessness, Abuse, Neglect, and Equity in Education.
Never before has education been so uncertain and inconsistent in the states. Schools have always varied in their effectiveness, equity, and opportunity in every state and every county. This year, however, every school experience will look different, and every child will struggle with different things. Pressure mounts for parents to provide their child with expensive […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
How Do I Explain America To My Students Tomorrow?
January 6, 2021 Americans woke up on the morning of January 6, 2021, learning that Georgia elected its first African-American Senator–a historic event only to be overshadowed by thousands of Americans storming the Capitol building in the afternoon. On my commute home, my mother-in-law, a retired social studies teacher, texts me: “Protestors have invaded the […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Finding the Gold in Each of our Students in a Virtual Setting
Melissa Childs is an Instructional Coach and a Special Education teacher at Salmon River Middle School in Fort Covington, NY. Melissa is a School District Leader certified and is currently working toward her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. A reporter once asked Andrew Carnegie how he had been able to hire 43 millionaires. Carnegie responded that […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
A Canary in the Coal Mine: The Truth We Need to Remember Post-Pandemic About Virtual Schooling
Education these days feels a bit like science fiction, doesn’t it? When I think of my students and my own daughter learning virtually, I wonder if anyone else is remembering Keanu Reeves’ character Neo in The Matrix? If you aren’t much into the science fiction genre, just picture a man plugged into a computer while […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
2020: Reflections of an Educator Working Through a Pandemic
I’m writing this article as I sit in my living room, on the cusp of a new year, thinking about what it means to be moving into a new chapter, a new milestone, etc. However, I spent the better part of my morning scrolling social media and I saw several people reflecting on the highlights […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teachers: The Way Home Is Through Baghdad
That holiday break we recently finished was not a vacation. It was only a breath, a moment of pause in a pandemic. Sure, many of us rested but how many educators feel refreshed and ready to return? This piece is not about toxic positivity. No one has the patience for phrases like, “You got this!” or “We […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
FIVE Miserable COVID Truths Teachers Don’t Say Out Loud
I had extraordinarily high bookish ambitions when I realized I was going to be stuck at home for a year. As a fan of classical texts and modern classics, I had some woeful gaps in my reading resume. I was going to read John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. I was going to read Ralph Ellison’s, […]