“No! You can’t do this to me!” Anyone that has taught an honors student has heard these words at least once in their teaching career. This particular student had a “B” on her report card. She plagiarized an essay and I gave her a zero. A college-bound senior knows better… or should know better. I […]
Opinion
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion
What The Future, America?!
Nineteen years of education have enabled me to watch the pendulum swing back and forth a few times. We have gone from grouping to whole class to differentiation. Methods and techniques come and go, each time reintroduced with a new twist. So many things in education recycle themselves and each time educators are ignored as […]
Posted inFeatured
Why I Teach
By Guest Writer Amanda Elizabeth Austin, Ed. D The moment I knew I was going to become an educator was when I got to experience a service learning course during my last year of college where I volunteered my time at a local elementary school. This school was located in an area, which was considered […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies, Opinion
The Counter-Productivity of the Testing Mentality
The other day, I came to team planning with some really great exploration activities and math tasks for students to use to deepen their understanding of the concepts we were learning in class. As the person who writes the formal lesson plans for our department and a graduate student, I take my job seriously, and […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
Deskside Manner: What Teachers Can Learn From Doctors (Part I)
I recently missed a day and half of school for a bunch of medical appointments. As I sat in various waiting rooms, talked to a host of medical assistants, and shook hands with more than a few doctors, I realized something – we teachers have something to learn from the doctor-patient relationship. We need to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion
Why Teachers MUST FIGHT Kim, Katy, & Kanye
We’ve seen this late-night skit too many times before: young Americans being asked simple questions about American history, United States civics, or current events. The people who are captured on camera are usually dumb-founded or give answers that make the audience and/or the questioner laugh (or cry). I used to think it had to be […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion
Why Teachers MUST FIGHT Kim, Katy, & Kanye
We’ve seen this late-night skit too many times before: young Americans being asked simple questions about American history, United States civics, or current events. The people who are captured on camera are usually dumb-founded or give answers that make the audience and/or the questioner laugh (or cry). I used to think it had to be […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
Stop Censoring Our Classrooms
A staple of democratic society is the ability to civilly converse with those of like and unlike mind. At least, that’s the idea. These days politicians on both sides of the aisle rarely agree on anything, and their communication style is anything but civil. Viewpoints are dismissed with prejudice, and compromise is unattainable. While there […]