What moral imperatives? I have been thinking more about the moral imperatives of teaching. These imperatives can hinder instruction and progress. That’s why the only option is to address and hopefully resolve them. They are moral imperatives because it’s wrong to not handle them. Preparing students academically-now that’s the job, a duty. Consultants, education experts/leaders (folks who travel around and talk about […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
The BEST New Year’s Resolution for Teachers: STOP EXCUSING Student Profanity
“For as good manners cannot subsist without good laws, so those laws cannot be put into execution without good manners.” – Machiavelli When I was a high school freshman many years ago, I once told a fellow student in a fit of annoyance to “stop bitching” about something. My teacher glanced over and with […]
Posted inOpinion
Teacher Solidarity Matters
One of the pieces of advice I remember from my first year teaching came from a veteran teacher. She told me, “Sweep the snow from your own doorstep, don’t worry about the frost on your neighbor’s roof.” I remember thinking, what the.. huh? It wasn’t until years later that I realized the wisdom behind this […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Can Teachers Hug Students?
I will never forget the most tragic moment in one of my students’ lives. It was the first year I taught, and he was in my homeroom. Nobody expected him to be there that day. Why? Both his parents died in a car accident the day before. And, then – there he was. The first […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
5 Things I’d Tell Myself in My Earlier Teaching Years
My first few years of teaching were spent scrambling to assemble the perfect lesson plans that would engage my students and still be fun. I spent hours at work instead of with my family. I was completely dedicated and yet afraid of failure. Sometimes, I felt a little lost and sometimes wondered if I had […]
Posted inBack to School
Making Sense of Special Education Paperwork: 3 Systems That Save Me Each and Every Time
I took a new position this year, one where the teaching I’ve been doing is the same, but the paperwork is not, I am a special education teacher in a resource room for kindergarten through third grade. For those of you are new to the special education area (like me) and are literally wallowing in […]
Posted inBook Review
Book Review: The Smartest Kids in the World
The inside cover of Amanda Ripley’s book asks the question, “What’s it like to be a child in the world’s new education superpowers?” – namely South Korea, Poland, and – yes, of course – Finland. To accomplish this, she follows the lives of three separate American teens who serve as foreign exchange students there. In […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Hiding in the School Building: Why Lockdown Drills Suck
We had our first lockdown drill today. For anyone unfamiliar with these drills, it’s practice for not if, but when we have an armed intruder in our school. It involves hiding all students away from any windows or doors and locking them in a secure place. If I am being completely honest, these drills make […]