Why Every Great Teacher Needs a Hobby Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Nothing makes me feel like I have accomplished less in my 40+ years than giving my high school students a brief biography of Mark Twain’s life. When I realize just how much […]
Mental Health
Posted inMental Health
What I Learned From the Burial of the Unknown Cat
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! On a sunny May morning in 2010, some of my high school students found a cat. It had died after apparently being hit by a car. Her body was just off the busy street in front of our school, […]
Posted inPedagogy
How to Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning Into Any Content Area
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Whether it’s unregulated and disruptive behavior or an overall malaise with regard to school, it’s clear that many kids are not all right, and parents and educators are taking notice. Some students are struggling to compensate for losses sustained over nearly […]
Posted inOpinion
Behind the Mask: Returning to School in the Midst of a Pandemic
We got the kids back. So why is it still so hard to reach them? Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Like many educators, I was excited when we managed to reopen our little Washington DC charter school last August. As middle school principal, I’d […]
Posted inOpinion
Before You Quit Education, What’s Your Plan?
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Are you exhausted beyond the point of no return? Does your exhaustion signal an exodus? If your answer is yes, are you pretty darn close to saying enough is enough? You are not alone! The education world is in […]
Posted inOpinion
An Educator Mom’s Perspective On Mother’s Day
As teachers who are also mothers, our roles are often even more than the “dual roles” of teacher and parent. It is difficult for most teachers with kids to strike the right balance, but when we think about the many roles mothers play, it is even more of a struggle to maintain a work-life balance. […]
Posted inOpinion
5 Reasons to End Active Shooter Drills in Schools
As we head into warmer afternoons and the end-of-year traditions, it’s natural to reflect on the year that’s been. This year felt far from normal as we navigated the rollercoaster of schooling during the pandemic. But some things did return to normal, including mandated active shooter drills. Forty states require public schools to conduct these […]
Posted inOpinion
The Toxic Positivity Propaganda Machine
In order to change destructive patterns, we need to stop pretending they aren’t there. Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! For what feels like the thousandth time, I am laying in bed at 4:00 p.m. Exhausted from the teacher workday and too drained to be […]