Every time I hear “experts” talk about finding the next great thing to improve education I want to scream. Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? Why don’t we use successful models to help struggling schools and districts? I am going to share with you what was a successful urban middle school as well […]
Middle School
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School, Social Studies
Critical Thinking, Morality, and 'Middle Passage'
The issue of slavery is a deeply rooted social foundation that has been toiled with for generations. Educators, particularly those teaching high school, are charged with helping their students understand how the existence of such a morally reprehensible institution was even possible. As adolescents, these young students struggle developmentally to decompartmentalize a happening such as […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Literacy, Middle School, Uncategorized
Finding Narrative: A English Teacher's Struggle
In my brain lives a little monster. I know I’m not alone. We all have little monsters lurking in our skulls. They hate anything rest related and love to do things like leap up and down and shout, “DID YOU SET THE ALARM FOR 5???” …right as sleep is about to overtake you. At the […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Middle School
What I Fear For my Students
We live a great nation. A nation where you can be whatever you want to be. I preach the American Dream in my classroom, I have to because I am an American Literature teacher. I love and believe in this country, but we are a country with problems. I teach at a poor, rural school […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School
The Media and Teachers..A Lens to the Truth
I knew I was getting old when in my fifth year of teaching I was watching “Saved by the Bell” and I thought, “Geez, these kids are never in class and where are the teachers?” It was one of those moments that always stayed with me. It seems in media, there are only three types […]
Posted inFeatured, Middle School
What I Miss Over the Summer
At the end of the year, we are all “done.” Done with the kids, the administration, the testing, and even each other. The kids pushed us to a breaking point and we not only crossed it, but are holding on to the branch with only one hand. End of the year evaluations are coming in […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Middle School, Special Education
Inclusion Students – The Elephant in the Room
There has been the great controversy for many years over the inclusion of special education students in the regular education classroom. Some parents are afraid that inclusion students will negatively impact their child’s education. Mainstream education teachers sometimes voice concerns over whether or not they can teach these students when they have no background in special […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instructional Strategies, Middle School
Student Mentors
It seems like by the time everything gets settled, the school year ends. Then in August, new freshmen arrive and need to be “broken in” to the high school climate. While we have amazing freshmen teachers to help with the adjustment period, sometimes they are not enough. In Japanese culture, there is a “senpai,” an […]