Guest Writer: Emma Martin In the past 5 months as a teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has viewed educators in different ways. First, we were seen as heroes. Champions for students who put on our capes and, in mere days, rescued our kids from quarantine with online activities, social Zoom check-ins, driveway hellos, […]
Opinion
Posted inCOVID-19
Children Left Behind: Virtual Learning Isn’t the Culprit
Every day there is news about a district extending their remote learning, a company keeping their workers at home for another few months, and more calls for life to start going back to normal despite the bleak situation we find ourselves in. It is understandable to miss “normal” – going shopping could hardly be considered […]
Posted inOpinion
Can You Talk About That in Elementary School?
By: Dr. Rachael Mahmood “Can you really talk about that in elementary school?” My colleagues often ask me. Then think for a moment and confirm, “I don’t think you can!” As an elementary school teacher, I often feel the need to close the door when talking to students about sensitive social justice topics like race, […]
Posted inFeatured
The Importance of Visibility for Queer Educators
Guest Writer: Melissa Roy, Ed.D In a gentle way, you can shake the world. ~Mahatma Gandhi On June 15, 2020, something happened that most of us in the LGBTQ community never thought we would see in our lifetime: the Supreme Court ruled gender identity and sexual orientation are protected characteristics under the Civil Rights Act. […]
Posted inOpinion
On the Topic of Erasing History: Racist Monuments
As many in our nation call for the removal of confederate monuments in public spaces, there is a loud opposing side saying that to do so would be to erase history. As a high school history teacher who has focused much of her own time and education on the intersection of race, gender, class, and […]
Posted inCOVID-19
They Can’t Fire Us All: Illegal Striking in the Time of COVID-19
All it takes is opening up social media, turning on the news, or checking the headlines to see a parade of opinions about opening up schools in the fall. Unfortunately, the opinion getting the most attention is that teachers should sit down, shut up, and get back in the classroom regardless of the circumstances of […]
Posted inParents
15 Things My 4-Year-Old Taught Me About Education
For the last four years, I’ve been updating this list of lessons that my son has taught me about how to be a better teacher. Here is how he has done that: 1 – Make an assessment of life’s priorities. If COVID-19 has taught us nothing else, it’s really — what are your priorities. For […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching is a Career, Not Your Fallback
If you are a teacher, you have probably had someone (or many someone’s) outside of education at some point in your career say that they thought about becoming a teacher, could be a teacher, maybe a teacher later if their current career does not pan out, or even teach when they retire. With the COVID-19 […]