[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”] In an historic, unprecedented move, the third largest school district in the United States has experienced an impressively harsh blow to its students, teachers, and parents: the Chicago Board of Education […]
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Posted inElementary School, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Uncategorized
I Like the Idea of the Common Core Standards, But…
“The Common Core standards are not evil; however, the implementation and everything afterward is questionable.”These were the words of a teacher in training I led about one of the founding tenets of the common core standards, text complexity. As soon as this fellow educator said those words, the discussion changed from text complexity, to how […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Featured
The Certification Blues (Charter School Diaries #21)
Week 5/28 – 5/31 I try not to complain much; I usually just go with the flow. But sometimes, when you take the “go with the flow” attitude, you sometimes can be taken advantage of or even disregarded. When I was first hired at my school, it was as an Educational Specialist with my teaching […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
What is Brain-Based Learning Anyway?
The latest and greatest buzzword around education in recent years is the concept of brain-based learning strategies. Many teachers believe, “I give knowledge…what else would I be teaching if not the brain?” A little background information may clear up any misconceptions about this learning pattern and how we can impart it in our classrooms for […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion, The Unemployed Teacher
The End of the Year Means the End of a Job for Many Teachers
The end of the school year is usually a time of concluding lessons, wrapping up projects, packing up classrooms, and looking forward to a bit of recovery time (however brief it might be). Most of all, it brings a huge sigh of relief – the school year has been conquered! But for many teachers this […]
Posted inBook Review, Opinion
“World Peace and Other 4th-Grade Achievements” A Book Review
World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements, by John Hunter Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2013 As teachers we need inspiration and support. If you are feeling a need to think about your purpose in the classroom and the meaning you have on those in your path, pick up a copy of World Peace and […]
Posted inFeatured, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
4 Rules for Working in a High Poverty Environment
My life changed forever when I decided to take a position as a teacher in the largest school district in Tennessee, Memphis City Schools. From the moment I took the position, I had people question if I was “ready” to work in an high poverty environment where many of the students came from backgrounds that […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
Why Do I Stay? I Stay to Share Stories
Why do I stay? This question is circulating on blogs and in videos by teachers from across the country. My friend Catherine, a teacher and literacy specialist, brought this question to my attention in her post this week. She was participating in a challenge organized by Two Writing Teachers called The Slice of Life. The instructions for participating are […]