Dear Colleagues: Please allow me to write an open letter to you. We face the possibility that March 13, 2020 (or earlier) was the last time we will see our students during the 2019-2020 school year. I walked out of school on Monday, March 16, 2020, with a fellow teacher who told me: “Laura, this […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
13 Websites for Middle-High School Students
CommonLit: CommonLit is a nonprofit education technology organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, especially students in Title I schools, graduate with the reading, writing, communication, and problem-solving skills they need to be successful in college and beyond. This is a great tool to help students as they try to stay on track with grade-level […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching in the Midst of the Corona Crisis
On Friday afternoon everyone in my classroom suddenly fell silent as we waited for the bell to ring. “I’ll see everyone on Monday, I hope. But who knows?” I had meant it as a throwaway sentiment, a verbal filler to occupy the dead air before the bell rang, ending the oddest, most surreal week in […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Schoolhouse Crisis: Teachers Exiting
We are in the midst of a schoolhouse crisis. A Learning Policy Institute study predicted a shortfall of over 100,000 teachers each year starting several years ago. The science seems to be confirmed by anecdotal evidence of teachers heading for the exits. Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released findings last fall […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A WIN for Teachers
Guest Writer: Charlotte Walker A few years ago under new school leadership, our school instituted WIN Time. WIN is an acronym for “What I need” and is a 30 minute, four days a week reading intervention block. For the first time in the 20 years I had worked for the district, our classroom para-educators were […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Danger of Wanting to be a Perfect Teacher
When I first decided to become an educator, I remember thinking, “I’m going to be a perfect teacher.” As a student, my teachers (even the ones I didn’t have the best experience with) always seemed to have it together. They knew the answers to all our questions, their lessons (even the more uninteresting ones) were […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
President Mike Bloomberg Would Be a Nightmare for Public Schools
#NeverBloomberg There are so many reasons Mike Bloomberg should not win the Democratic presidential primary. Using his billions to buy votes, his racist rationale for the 2008 housing crisis, his similarly racist and stubborn commitment to stop and frisk policing, and his misogynistic treatment of women are just a few of his recently publicized disqualifications. […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Teach Hard History. We All Need It
I am a social studies educator. Emblazoned on the wall of my classroom is a sign proclaiming “I Teach Hard History.” Earlier this year my students looked at vivid, graphic, and unfiltered views of the Middle Passage that brought enslaved Africans to the New World. I’ve challenged students to think about whether or not the […]