Coronavirus-canceled testing brings an opportunity. As a teacher and parent in the state of New York, news that standardized testing might be canceled this year brings mixed emotions. I suspected the closures due to COVID-19 might come to this, and for many years I have been pretty open about my personal feelings about abuse-by-test. My […]
The State of Education
The Lost Identity of Teachers: The COVID-19 Story
Due to COVID-19, on Thursday evening, it was announced that all schools in my state would close for two weeks starting the following Monday. Immediately, teachers began cloning themselves, figuring out how to recreate their daily learning experiences in absentia. Remember, a teacher’s value is their ability to listen and analyze the needs of a […]
“Why Didn’t Anyone Help Me?” The Truth Behind Abused Teachers Who Took Matters Into Their Own Hands
When the articles pop up on my timeline, I’m quick to click the link to each and every article that looks or sounds like this: “Teacher assaults student” “Educator and student fights” “Teacher fired after brawl with student” What I find to be interesting is that many, if not all of the teachers involved in […]
Is School Boring? A Closer Look Into A Problem That Plagues Most Schools
I never found school boring when I was in high school. Challenging and frustrating? Yes, but never boring. So it always comes as a bit of a shock to me when students tell me how boring they find their high school classes today. The interesting thing about boring, of course, is that boring tends to […]
#RealTalk Why We Haven’t Quit Teaching
Quit teaching: The past few articles I’ve written have been controversial. The craziest response I’ve received has been, “Wow! Can tell you are young and have a long way to go! In fact get out now! Your students and parents deserve it…” When I first read this response, my “irritated, frustrated, and over it” reaction […]
Let’s talk about Testing Anxiety in Children
I can still remember how I felt as I looked at the tears falling from one of my brightest students as she sat in her assigned seat for the Georgia Milestones Assessment last spring. Because I was mandated to sign my life away on a form acknowledging the serious nature of standardized testing, all I […]
Vote for the Voteless: Off-Year Elections Do Matter
When I was in fourth grade, my class participated in the Center for Civic Education’s Project Citizen Program. Groups of students “identify a public policy problem in their community. They then research the problem, evaluate alternative solutions, develop their own solution in the form of a public policy, and create a political action plan to […]
The State of the Demoralized Teacher
Teacher burnout is not a new concept. If you’re connected to education in any way, you know that teachers are burning out more than ever. Educators are losing the spark they once had for the profession. Teachers are struggling with PTSD and resigning as a result of the declining state of education and the increased […]