Walking past the teacher break room, I peer in and see platters of sweet treats, both homemade and store-bought intended to show love and appreciation for hard-working teachers. It is lovely, really. Administrators and parents took the time and effort to bring these treats into school to celebrate our hard work and welcome us back […]
Opinion
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Teachers Fueled by Student Success
I had a student observer this past spring who asked me “how we do it?” She wanted to know how, in spite of all the stuff thrown our way – the attacks on the profession, the teachers, the union, the pension, the lifestyle, the politics, the “part-time worker” status, the lack of results – and […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
The Argument for Multi-Grade Classrooms in Today’s Schools
The idea behind having a variety of ages, or grades, in one classroom, should not be a foreign concept. On any given day, most adults interact with individuals from an assortment of populations: family members, co-workers, neighbors, service personnel, teammates, etc… Rarely outside of schools do you see individuals grouped based on a specific age. […]
Posted inOpinion, School Improvement
Digging into Learning: Deep Learning Takes Root in the School Garden
“Peanut Butter! Peanut Butter!” squeals a spirited 3rd grader and instantly everyone stops, racing over to see what’s been found this time. You see, “peanut butter” is the code word students agreed upon to alert others when they find something cool. It can be a squirmy worm, a gorging caterpillar, an oddly shaped seed, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion, School Improvement
What if We Eliminated Standardized Testing?
A significant amount of research has pointed towards standardized testing causing a high level of stress in students, and teachers alike. While the merit of standardized testing can, has, and will continue to be argued over for years to come, imagine for a moment a world in which standardized testing is eliminated from K-12 education altogether. I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Making the Dual Language Decision
We all know that communicating with parents is essential to being an effective educator, but when the majority of your students speak a different language at home, it becomes frustrating to have to find a translator for every single phone call. I’ve also learned, after numerous confusing emails, not to completely trust Google Translate. I […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Attention Right-Wing: Teachers Aren’t Promoting an Anti-American Agenda
On the eve of Independence Day, columnist Charles Krauthammer appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and stated that a waning pride in America is largely because “we teach our children about all the pathologies in the United States and very little about the glories.” To be fair, as Carlson acknowledged this precipitous drop in […]
Posted inBack to School
Going Bare: Forget the Pinterest Ready Room
I love scrolling through all the beautiful Pinterest classrooms and seeing just how beautiful a classroom can be. However, when I looked at my classroom, I saw it was never really Pinterest-ready. I felt a pang inside me wishing I had the money or ability to do this. I realized that I had something better. My […]