Every May, one week is designated as Teacher Appreciation Week. There will be the customary newspaper coverage of favorite teacher stories, the hashtag #thankateacher will trend on Twitter, and celebrities will post videos thanking teachers as the most important influences in their lives. These are all wonderful and appropriate tributes to the profession that prepares our nation’s […]
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Posted inCommon Core, Featured, Uncategorized
Good-bye to the Inauthentic "Make a Connection" Questions
As the Connecticut State Standardized tests fade into the sunset, teachers are learning to say “Good-bye” to all those questions that ask the reader to make a personal connection to a story. The incoming English Language Arts Common Core Standards (ELA- CCSS) are eradicating the writing of responses that begin with, “This story reminds me […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Opinion, Uncategorized
Common Core Should Share Common Language
[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”] A visitor walking into a school encounters the school’s mission statement on a banner or etched on a plaque, or painted on to the wall. The mission statement defines the school’s […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Principals' Corner
Charter School Diaries # 6 – Turning off the Cruise Control
This week was an abbreviated one. Unfortunately, I was only in school for three days (Wednesday through Friday), but the week was no less compelling. Personally, I think that fire drills are outdated, yet we actually had a small emergency where a fire drill was warranted this week. We also had an incident where a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Literacy, Social Studies, The Unemployed Teacher
High Schools Need Dr. Seuss Time
Normally March 2nd would pass without notice but this year I am embracing the 109th birthday celebration of Dr. Seuss in my high school classroom. Seuss is ageless and timeless. Many elementary school teachers and children’s librarians have embraced Read Across America’s promotion of “grab your hat and read with the cat” but high schools […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School
Teaching Through Trickery: A Snapshot of Theory vs. Reality
During my first year of teaching high school, I inherited a remedial reading class that consisted of about eighteen unmotivated juniors. Having just finished a graduate program in educational psychology with emphasis placed specifically on reading and literacy, I saw this as an opportunity to take all of those research-based best practices and make readers […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
What Are We Accelerating in the Classroom?
As teachers we know how important it is to encourage reading in our classrooms, no matter what subject we teach. We equate reading success to lifelong success all around. As teachers we also know how incredibly busy our days are and how difficult it can be to meet children’s needs who either need daily remediation […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Social Studies
Informational Text for Social Studies or English: “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel
By my calculations, at the mid-point of the school year, many World History classes are studying World War II. Should these classes want to increase their use of an informational text in English or Social Studies curriculum, I suggest Elie Wiesel’s noteworthy speech The Perils of Indifference. Wiesel delivered this speech to Congress on April 12, […]