“Give me your phone now!” I demanded to the Lisette* as I attempted to quiet my noisy class after the first-period bell stopped ringing. Glaring at me over the rim of her glasses, Lisette* emphatically replied, “No”. Frustrated, I hit the buzzer to our discipline office. The other kids quieted down to witness the showdown- anything […]
Opinion
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Five Important Habits for Teachers
There are so many tasks to accomplish as a teacher – important issues, small duties, and everything in between, but there is never enough time to accomplish them all. Then there are those important habits to develop, even when we don’t feel like it. The world doesn’t stop if you do not do them, but they […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion, Uncategorized
Lack of Substitutes Is Canary in the Mine
As our local association’s president, I traveled to all 10 schools in our district for a 10-minute meeting at each one. At these meetings, I asked the members there what single topic they wanted to discuss, and at 4 of the 10, the teachers wanted to address the dearth of substitute teachers available. “]Not only […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, From the Front Lines, Opinion
The Myth of Teacher Salaries
I work in a fairly affluent district. The majority of my students come from parents with college degrees and are homeowners in our community. The town has passed school bonds based on property taxes to fund the ‘extras’ in our districts, such as art programs, sports and an additional period for kids to take electives. […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
A Teacher’s Tears
Teaching is an emotional career. Most of us have larger than normal hearts because we love our students and treat them as our biological kids, so we care. A lot. My weeks have been filled with ups and downs and I have cried more than I have in a while. As much as I wanted […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
American Dream, Education Nightmare
Last night I had a dream whereby I visited the high school that my former middle school students attend. While walking up and down the hallways, I saw images of things that greatly disturbed me. First, I saw students who sat silently in desks and took tests – in every room of the high school. […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Teachers are the Light in the Darkness – how can we lead the way?
We are only a quarter of the year in, and I am already worn out physically, mentally and emotionally. Report cards are due and I still have grading to complete. A new nine weeks begins on Wednesday and I haven’t begun to implement my ‘step it up a notch each nine weeks’ procedure. I have […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Opinion
SUPERPOWER Schools
It happened. One day on a teacher in-service-workday, I was having a total meltdown, so on my lunch hour I went to see a 4th grade teacher-friend of mine in another school. As I walked through her building, I quickly noticed everyone was at lunch, and she was to nowhere to be found, so I decided to […]