The month of April is a perfect time to to give attention to poetry. A middle school colleague and poet urged me to give some undivided attention to this often waylaid genre. My first email response was to do no more than to consider it but then I took a big breath and sent a […]
Middle School
Posted inMiddle School, Stellar Educator of the Week
Congratulations LaShanda J. – Our Stellar Educator of the Week!
Name: LaShanda J. School: Charter School of the Dunes, Indiana Years Teaching: 5-6 years Specialty: Middle School – English/ Language Arts, Social Studies Congratulations to LaShanda J., our Stellar Educator of the Week! LaShanda was nominated by one of her colleagues, who wrote about the impact LaShanda has made on her students: LaShanda has […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School, Opinion
We Need a New Progressive Era for our Schools
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Recently, a blog post written by Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann called “18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children” hit the internet big time. In it, Dr. Berchelmann explains why it […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Featured, Middle School
Politics As Usual – Pt.1 (Charter School Diaries #12)
Week 3/25-3/29 [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] In any job, there is always office politicking going on. In public education, district-wide politicking is the norm. The cycle is never ending. Policymakers are pressured by parents who […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Opinion
What Frustrates Me About Non-Public Schools
This article is published simultaneously with its partner article, “What Bothers Me About Public Schools“ Let me preface this article by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form opposed to private or charter schools. There’s a school for every child on this planet, and for some students, it’s not a public […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Middle School, Opinion
Study Your Students (Charter School Diaries #11)
Week 3/18 – 3/22 Educators can be some of the most rigid people in a school. Many educators believe that the schoolhouse is simply for kids to come prepared to learn and that they should only do just that; students are to be well behaved, fed, rested and prepared to learn. Unfortunately, that is not […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Middle School, Parents
A Day in the Life of a Parent of A Virtual Charter School!
With two children currently attending a virtual charter school, the days can run together very easily. The basic schedule of the day tends to run something like this: Wake up Get Breakfast Start school work Get lunch Complete school work Rest of day’s activities (scouts, karate, etc) Generally, there is no set schedule unless the […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Teaching Through Trickery: A Snapshot of Theory vs. Reality
During my first year of teaching high school, I inherited a remedial reading class that consisted of about eighteen unmotivated juniors. Having just finished a graduate program in educational psychology with emphasis placed specifically on reading and literacy, I saw this as an opportunity to take all of those research-based best practices and make readers […]