In an era when education policy often focuses on test scores, pacing guides, and performance metrics, educators like Dr. Leigh Alley are reminding the profession of a foundational truth: schools are human systems before they are academic ones. A lifelong coastal Mainer and proud public educator, Dr. Alley serves as Coordinator of Teacher Education at […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Proof That Self-Pacing Works: A Former Social Studies Teacher’s Perspective
I’ll be honest—when I first heard about self-pacing, I was skeptical. Sure, in a perfect world where every student is motivated, organized, and on grade level, maybe. But in my real-world social studies classroom? With 30 students, wide-ranging reading abilities, multilingual learners, and a general aversion to primary sources? It felt like a lofty ideal […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Gratitude Tour: The Most Reverend Joel M. Konzen
In 1982, after teaching for a year in the DeKalb County School system, I learned of an English position at the Marist School in North Atlanta, GA. I discovered in my research before applying for the position that the goal of the Marist Brothers and Fathers is “to make Jesus known and loved through the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Grade Inflation and the Illusion of Equity
As a high school history teacher, I find joy in making lesson plans that allow students to view their world through different lenses and make connections between the past and present. When I watch students experience that “light bulb” moment of recognizing how those in power distort history to maintain power or find empowerment from […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
When Growth Refuses to Look Like What We Expect
Yaneth is a multilingual learner who has been on an IEP since preschool. She is in sixth grade now, and she still cannot read. That sentence makes people uncomfortable. It invites questions—some curious, some accusatory. What intervention failed? What program didn’t work? How does this happen after so many years of schooling? What it often […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teacher Diaries: I’m All Talked Out for Today
I suddenly know why teachers say they’re “exhausted” or “teacher tired” after all the events, expectations, and errands to the copyroom where I’m sure a handful of us contemplate “what am I doing here?” While we may know that we are there to make copies, and on a bigger note, to encourage the young minds […]
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Acceptance, Worth, Hope – Why they matter
I was an educator in the Missouri Public School System for 31 years. I have been an educational national motivational speaker for 27 years. I once spoke at the Missouri Honors Society Conference. Teenagers from all over the state attended. Afterwards, teachers brought their female students up to me. When I asked them what was […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching and Learning: Learning to Teach by Listening to Students
As teachers, we know that many factors contribute to students maximizing their potential and, hopefully, gaining mastery of a subject. And among those factors, only one is totally within our control – how well we develop and employ our teaching skills. Skills that are enhanced when we embrace the opportunity to learn from our students, […]