After a long day of online tutoring, I took a brain break and began skimming my Twitter feed mindlessly. Tweet after tweet flooded the screen posts announcing the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman, the amazing actor who brought to life Thurgood Marshall, Jackie Robinson, and my favorite – T’Challa -The Black Panther. I sat there […]
Mental Health
Posted inProfessional Development
Obstinance Has No Place in Teaching and Learning
For teachers, it is a fact of life that they teach lessons. One of those lessons is to help students grapple with new, difficult, and controversial ideas. To help students make sense and place those ideas within their own experiences is part of the job; I enjoy it. So, this week, as my frustrations in […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Right Now Things Are Hard, But It’s Going to Be Fine
Right now, things are hard. Nothing feels fine, or normal. As we all know, teaching in person is different than teaching online. There are many things that we as educators are dealing with right now. How do we ensure that our students are learning, when there are some students without the ability to attend online […]
Posted inTeacher Burnout
Survival Mode on Auto Pilot
We’ve all been there. Survival Mode on Auto-Pilot. At some point in every teacher’s career, they experience a school district, school, or classroom that they realize isn’t going to change. They’ve made complaints, documented, changed classroom management systems, altered and differentiated the curriculum, and scheduled meeting after meeting, after meeting… yet nothing changes. It’s at […]
Posted inThe New Teacher Chronicles
First Year Teachers, Y’all Alright?
Dear First-Year Teachers, You’re not doing it wrong. It’s just that hard. I wanted to write this article to simply check-in… so… Y’all Alright? The first week of school is over, and we’re deep into the school year now. I remember how I felt that first week: nervous, anxious, and excited to pour into the […]
Posted inMental Health
#TeacherGuilt
We hear about #momguilt all the time and how it kicks when you even THINK about putting yourself first for 5 seconds. I can admit that I deal with this on a daily basis. It’s one of those things that never goes away. I’ve also realized that as a teacher, #teacherguilt exists as well and […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way: When I Knew To Look For Something New
I knew I wanted to be a teacher in my Junior year of high school. This goal drove every one of my academic moves. The strengths of Education programs rooted in my college search. I sought summer jobs and extra-curricular activities imitating teacher-like roles. My holiday breaks volunteering with teachers: grading, organizing, decorating, and planning. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
This Is Not A Drill: The Impact Of Our New Normal
Under the handle of my classroom door is a red button. That button allows teachers to secure their classrooms from the inside. Before the red button, teachers used their keys to lock their doors from the hallway. The mechanism protects us, but during the first lockdown of the school year, my red button fails to […]