I have a teacher confession to make. I failed him. Not “gave him an F” failed him but failed him as a young man. A student with a future ahead of him, someone who could one day be a father, a councilman, or even president. But I failed him. It was my second year as […]
Instruction & Curriculum
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Delusional Parent Tried to Sue Me
Teachers are well versed in the helicopter parent. The helicopter parent hovers at all times picking at small things, meddling, and is generally over-involved. They will usually try to solve each and every small problem their kid encounters by asking the teacher to get involved or blaming the problem on the teacher. This new type […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The Impact of the Teacher Shortage
If you are part of #Edutwitter, you see the various educators displaying the great work happening in their classrooms and districts. I may be alone in this, but I occasionally have FOMO when I scroll through. Social media sure knows how to paint a pretty picture of what’s going on. However, if you think critically […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Movies Based on Books, a Help or a Hindrance?
Over spring break, I read an amazing book called Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. We’ve talked about the book on the site before in this excellent article, so I won’t go too in depth here. We do not have reading goals in my classroom, mostly for the reasons that Gallagher outlines. I want my students to read […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching Abroad: The Pros and Cons
I’ll never forget the moment I had the idea to teach abroad. I was a stay-at-home mom with my brand new twins, and I wasn’t feeling like my fun, adventurous, extroverted self. As I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across an article about a single mom of three who was living her best life […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teacher Self-Care Calendar: May 2019
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Posted inMiddle School
Four Minutes: Putting the Passing Period in the Past
To me, the number “four” has always carried special significance. I am the oldest of four siblings and was born in the fourth month of the year. In middle school, two different versions of “4 Minutes,” one a pop song by Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake, the other an R&B song by Avant, earned their positions […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Empathy: The Key to Better Behavior in the Classroom
Empathy, for me, was always one of the best ways to handle classroom behavior. It came to me naturally because of the teachers I had in elementary school. I grew up in a housing project. This living situation was due to the death of my father just before my third birthday. In a time before […]