It’s been my first week of teaching online and it’s been an interesting experience. In addition to being stressed out by having to quickly change all my lesson plans, and readjust my overall trajectory for the rest of the school year, I’ve been very anxious for my students. As a 25-year-old-year-old teacher, this has been […]
Opinion
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Take time for Yourself During Self-Isolation for COVID-19
In addition to being an educator, I am a poet. I started writing poetry over the last 2 years and I used it as a means of emotional survival; it’s a means of expressing myself, particularly during difficult moments. However, within the past year, my writing has become sporadic; I’ve found it more difficult to […]
Posted inOpinion
Teacher Professional Development and Training is Ridiculously Out of Touch
Guest Writer: Jill Jackson About a year ago, I was sitting in a hotel lobby with a group of very smart, talented and super motivated leaders from a district I know well. They know what’s up and they are busy at work every single day. I admire them and what they do. We were casually […]
Posted inElementary School
The Instructional Programs and Curriculum are Fatally Flawed
By Guest Writer: Jill Jackson Imagine this: You are a teacher who shows up to professional development at the beginning of the school year and are told that the district has chosen the new English Language Arts/Math/Science/Art/P.E. program after a year-long pilot. (I use the word “pilot” very loosely because typically the curriculum pilots have […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: The Signs That All Hell Has Broken Loose in Education
Guest Writer: Jill Jackson One of the things I have noticed as I’ve worked with teachers is the chaos. The chaos of professional development (either too much training with no time to actually try anything or so little training teachers are searching social media in desperation to write their own curriculum each night). The […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s Taken a Pandemic To Save the Mental Health of Teachers
As I sit here to write this piece, it’s 5:09 pm on the east coast and I have just made it in after a long day of preparing to be out of school for at least two weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic occurring around the world. While the world has seemingly broken into a […]
Posted inLiteracy
When the Fire is Gone: Real Stories for Survival, Resilience, and Heartbreak When Dealing with Teacher Burnout
When the Fire is Gone: Real Stories for Survival, Resilience, and Heartbreak When Dealing with Teacher Burnout To read a sample chapter, click here. (Atlanta, GA – March 11, 2020) When the Fire is Gone: Real Stories for Survival, Resilience, and Heartbreak When Dealing With Teacher Burnout, is the first follow-up book from the 2012 […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Things Are Weird Right Now
Guest Writer: Jill Jackson The last year as an educator has been a weird one for me. First, I was rejected from speaking at a conference that I never applied to speak at. Here’s the rejection letter, in case you’re interested: Good Morning and Happy Holidays! After careful consideration, unfortunately, your speaker’s expressed […]