When was the United States founded? What elements are combined to make Nitrous Oxide? What is the slope of 6x + 7? Which word is spelled correctly in this sentence? These questions may seem awfully familiar as these are the type of base level questions we experienced in our formative years in education. Some may […]
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Posted inStellar Educator of the Week
Graham G.-Stellar Educator of the Week
Name : Graham G. School District: Chicago Public Schools Years Teaching : 7-8 years Certification Areas: English/ Language Arts, Science, Social Studies Recommendation: “Graham has put his heart and soul into teaching since his first day teaching inner city students in Chicago, fresh out of college. He consistently finds new and interesting ways to engage his students, from […]
Posted inOpinion, The Unemployed Teacher
The Journey of An Unemployed Teacher: A Shock to the System!
I mentioned last week that there have been over 350,000 teaching job losses since 2009. Usually the story of education job cuts stops there. But what really happens once the decision to cut is made? Every state in the union has districts that have experienced a massive shock to their system through a Reduction […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Opinion, Uncategorized
Part 2: Are Teachers Caught in the Crosshairs of the War on Women?
By: Eva Carafa In Part 1 of this four part series, we considered whether teaching is a low-status profession, despite the platitudes heard every day about the importance of teachers. In Part 2, we’ll consider whether there is a relationship between the War on Women and the War on Teachers currently being fought in the […]
Posted inElementary School, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Opinion, Uncategorized
The "No Excuses" Parent
By writing an article entitled “The Exhaustion of the American Teacher” recently, I unwittingly unleashed a torrent of competing emotions. With 81,000 Facebook “likes” and scores of supportive comments from teachers and their loved ones, the text and tenor of the piece found a receptive audience. At the same time, several of the comments—from both […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Middle School, Opinion, The Unemployed Teacher
The Unemployed Teacher: A School Year Begins…Without Us
I took it for granted. I took for granted that once I found my passion and had seven years experience under my belt with it, I was safe. My passion is teaching Social Studies – I especially love Civics and Sociology, but have taught everything from Global Studies to US History. I had developed and […]
Posted inElementary School, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Contextual Accountability
Every school is a microcosm of the community it serves—that is, every school that serves any and all students in the neighborhood. Peaceful schools are nestled in peaceful environs. If there are drugs or violence in the streets, educators will contend with drugs and violence working their way into the school like crickets through unseen […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Opinion, Parents
Critical Thinking in Kids
For those that may have read my blog, particularly a post on stagnation in our schools, you might gather that I highly support the teaching of critical thinking skills. It came as a shock, though, to find out that at least in Texas, critical thinking is looked down upon. You can actually read their […]