Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Almost three years ago, I wrote an article entitled, “Jobs For Teachers Who Leave the Profession” about the various jobs teachers could do outside of being in the classroom. After being shared over 1,000,000 times, I figured we should do an update […]
Recruitment & Retention
Race-Based Silence is Violence
Look around your school. Who would be the person to talk to your students about race and how it affects minorities? Who would start the conversation about Alton Sterling or Philando Castille? If you cannot think of anyone, there is an issue. If you don’t think children need to discuss racially charged incidents, there is an […]
Movie Review: Tested
Think that there’s a lot on the line for kids taking tests? Plenty of pressure? Stress? Difficulties? Mess? Welcome to New York City Public Schools, says writer, producer, and director Curtis Chin in his film Tested. His story line follows twelve 8th grade students who are wrangling over the decision to take the Specialized High School […]
Changing the Conversation: Teacher Tenure
“When I first started teaching, I thought that I was doing it for all of the right reasons: shorter hours, summers off, no accountability.”- Bad Teacher In one of my undergraduate courses, we analyzed the culture’s view of teachers. Although inspirational teachers like Mr. Feeny (Boy Meets World), Mr. Holland (Mr. Holland’s Opus), and Mr. […]
#SATCHAT’s Coalition of the Willing Should Be in Teacher Ed Programs
Rather than sleep in, hundreds of educators spend Saturday mornings (7:30 EST) tweeting away on Twitter in discussions with other educators worldwide about current issues in education. The hashtag #satchat takes educators to the discussion selected for that morning. The topics are usually posted by one of the coordinators so that educators can prepare in advance for […]
A Profession for My Generation
This op-ed originally appeared in the Memphis-based Commercial Appeal on August 3rd, 2014: I have a confession: Halfway through my second year of teaching, I was questioning whether teaching was really the right career for me. I was putting in countless hours in my Memphis high school, but my progress as an educator felt much […]
Recruitment and Retention Part 6: Enhance Teacher Career Options
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] I’m someone that needs a good challenge, whether it be in my personal or professional life. I like the thrill of facing a difficult problem and having to come up with […]
Recruitment and Retention Part 5: Targeted Professional Development
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] One of the best professional development (PD) opportunities I’ve been to was at an NCTM conference in St. Louis. I walked into a lecture hall and instead of rows upon rows […]