Lack of respect is something that I’ve discussed with many of my fellow educators, as it has seemingly run rampant in recent years. The product of our discussions usually center around our love for teaching, but also, we discuss how difficult it has become to maintain in an environment where we do not feel respected […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Is The Moment of Death Different For a Teacher?
Some day—barring an unforeseen accident or circumstances beyond my comprehension—I will lay dying in my deathbed. I think about this a lot, probably too much. And I know it is macabre and slightly ghoulish to reflect on it as often as I do. I don’t mention this habit to my wife or friends. After all, […]
Posted inBack to School
I No Longer Want to Be Professionally Developed Due to Brain Overload
I love conferences. I always have, and now that I’m working in education, I love them even more. My background is in history and archaeology, so there was always a lot of them. You would prepare research, or just go and listen to what other people in the field were doing. Plus, it was always […]
Posted inHigh School
It’s Time to Build The Case for More Vo-Tech Classes
A recent PDK poll shows that 82% of Americans support job-skills classes, even if it’s at the expense of academic classes. Additionally, 86% believe schools should offer certificate / licensing programs that lead to jobs. But they’re forgetting one very big thing: this type of education already exists. It’s just that everybody forgets vocational-technical training. And […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
10 Ways to Be a More Productive Teacher in the New School Year
Being a productive teacher felt like the impossible goal. I had a million to-dos and only so many hours to do it in. Anyone out there feel my pain? Usually, my preparation time turned into me doing the things I liked the most first. Then, I’d chat with a coworker for a bit and scramble […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Teaching in a Post-Union World
The week before school begins, our education association is fortunate enough to sit down with the new educators hired in our district and encourage them to sign-up for our association. While this seemed pretty cut-and-dry when I was first hired 10 years ago, the discussion has rapidly changed and the difficulty increased. As more educators […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
We Must Teach the Worst of our History; Not Glorify It
As I write this, it’s not yet 24 hours since Charlottesville, Virginia erupted in violence at the hands of white supremacists. What happened there, how we respond to it, and what must happen next is an essential conversation for all Americans, but especially educators. Those white Americans whose reaction was to claim “this isn’t America!” […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
LGBT Perspectives in the Middle School Classroom
There has recently been a lot of buzz around a new short animated film entitled “In a Heartbeat.” I first saw it being shared on Facebook, and since it was posted on July 31st, it has been viewed over 20 million times. If you have not had the chance to view it yet, here is […]