I love to see new teachers join our ranks. In a profession that is being left behind to make more money working at the local 7-11, it’s still good to see fresh faces believing in what we do. The teachers fresh from student teaching, wearing their classroom key around their neck like a badge of […]
Middle School
The Importance of Communication For IEP Students and Parents
I realize that I am a little on the eccentric side. I like it there, without the boundaries and regiment of the real world. And since I see things from a different perspective than most I also enjoy some things that many teachers find to be less enjoyable. One of those things is IEP meetings. […]
[Opinion] Barack Obama: A Role Model for Teachers and Students
America and the World Today It has been a difficult week for America and the world. American leadership in the world seems to be collapsing as nations considered to be our allies are criticized and nations thought to be adversarial are applauded as friends. The old world order established after World War II where the […]
Equity in Action: Mitigating Unconscious Bias In the Classroom
In this heightened political atmosphere, our society seems to be replete with instances where white people are being caught on social media being or acting in an overtly racist manner. It seems our Facebook or Twitter feeds will have on a daily basis some video of a white person treating an African-American, Hispanic, or member […]
Teaching Immigration Empathy: Why Refugee by Alan Gratz Should Be Added To Your Curriculum
It’s summer vacation which means that most of the Secondary ELA groups I am in on social media are full of teachers asking for recommendations for books to add to their curricula. I am a big believer in the power of books to change hearts and minds, so my suggestions lean toward YA literature that […]
Taking the Anxiety Out of Student Placement in Special Education
If you are like me you get very invested in your students in special education. So invested that it is difficult to release them to the next special education teacher. I teach kindergarten through third grade mild/moderate special education in a resource room, so some of my kids loop up with me the next year […]
Civility in the Classroom and the Rise of American Fascism
Setting the Stage I am in a hotel room with three millennials: Grace, 24, Gabriel, 22, Glorie, 20. An argument is raging: How can I be civil with people who support evil? I know that’s harsh. Is your neighbor who voted for Trump evil? I’ll say no. But these young people are having none of it. […]
The Politics and Pedagogy of Immigration Policy
The national debate over the Trump Administration policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border has reached a fever pitch. Images and audio of crying children, traumatized by the removal of their parents to detention facilities while the children are detained in what amounts to cages, have preoccupied the national media and gripped […]