“Students need to read like writers and they need to write like readers.” ― Kelly Gallagher The current craze in education is around giving students choice in what they read in an attempt to get them excited about reading again. This idea as basic as it has “lit” a fire in teachers in demanding that students have […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Janelle Monáe: Our Students’ New(ish) Role Model
Janelle Monáe. The name means many things to many people. Actress in the Oscar-winning films Hidden Figures and Moonlight. Musician. Android. African American. Pansexual. Queer. The meaning that is most important to me, though, is role model. Now, I know some teachers and parents will cry out that her music and videos aren’t exactly PG. […]
Teaching in a Polarized Society: Reaching Across the Political Divide
“And the Oscar Goes To…” Teaching Civics in today’s hyperpartisan atmosphere is a dangerous occupation. The issues that make up the dialogue of American politics seem to have separated the American electorate to a higher degree today than in years past. Americans were always able to agree on their common heritage as the greatest democracy […]
A Reformed Ed-Reformer
Once upon a time, I was that young, white, teacher that really believed that the problem with my local urban school and our mismanaged district was the teachers’ union and the teachers that just didn’t work or care hard enough. I remember going to see Waiting for Superman and crying in the theater. Yes, I pumped […]
Your Gradebook Should Not Be a Punishment Tool
If you want to start an argument among educators, discuss gradebooks and grading practices. There are various opinions floating around about grades and various grading rules teachers must follow based on mandates from the principal or school district. I have worked at different schools during the course of my career and below are some of […]
Teaching the Kids We Have Right Now: LGBT+ Youth in the Classroom
In a recent NPR piece interviewing author Alex Wagner, she stated: “I think we do a lot of work in this day and age focusing on the future and on the past….we don’t invest enough in the present.”[i] Wagner was talking about her exploration of her genetic backstory, but the fact is, we focus on […]
The Facets of Personality and Successful Teaching
Anyone who has ever been a cooperating teacher for an up-and-coming student teacher knows how difficult it can be to evaluate one’s protege negatively. As I observed my student teacher. I am inspired to evaluate my own teaching style and the elements of my personality that go into my efforts to be a master teacher. […]
What If School Was More Like Summer Camp?
Every March, the fourth grade class at my school takes an annual overnight trip to a YMCA Camp. For many of our students, this is a novel and unforgettable experience; and, it has proven to be just as formative a trip for me as a teacher. I observe levels of interest, engagement, and enthusiasm at […]