“…and what is that award for?” the boy asked pointing to the right corner of the book. I was showing students in a 2nd grade class the cover of the picture book Last Stop on Market Street, written by American author Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson. The boy was pointing to a black medallion, pasted under […]
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Posted inParents
Encouraging Children to Read and Write
Originally posted in RealEdReform My own three daughters are insatiable readers, perpetual writers, and the oldest is our first state-level and national level prize winner for her writing. Number two has submitted this year, but she’s only in 10th grade and is just beginning to develop her formidable chops. How did I encourage my children to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
What Do You Do With the Highly Advanced Reader?
As a teacher of gifted students, I’ve come to expect the unexpected. Most students demonstrate asynchronous development. Others are bright but underachieving. Still, other students are not truly gifted, but are bright “teacher pleasers,” with the sort of behaviors that make teachers lives easier. What I did not expect was to find three students in […]
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Encouraging Conversation About Teen Suicide
We’re just a few weeks into the new school year, and already communities are mourning the tragic deaths of students by suicide. From the public outcry of Daniel Fitzpatrick’s parents to the private grief of classmates, teen suicide plagues the school community. How do we talk to our students about the devastating realities of depression […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Race and Racisim in the Classroom: 3 Ways to Start a Difficult Conversation
Recently I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, writing and talking about how to discuss race and racism in a classroom setting. As an elementary school teacher, one of the first challenges I have to overcome is convincing people that we should even try to do this. Understandably, a lot of people worry about “exposing” […]
Posted inHigh School, Social Justice
Ethics in Education… Do We Still Have Them?
James Comer said, “No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.” At a dinner party recently, some teacher friends and I were discussing inappropriate relationships between teachers and students. A non-teacher asked, “What’s going on between these teachers and students? How does THAT happen?” It piqued my curiosity; so I began to investigate the […]
Posted inUncategorized
5 Writers That Every High School Student Should Read Right Now
My favorite class to teach was (and will always be) American Literature. There’s something about teaching the sordid history of our country that gave me not only chills but opened my student’s eyes to the meaning of how literature can shape a country. In anticipation for my new group of flippant juniors who were counting down […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion
Why Teachers MUST FIGHT Kim, Katy, & Kanye
We’ve seen this late-night skit too many times before: young Americans being asked simple questions about American history, United States civics, or current events. The people who are captured on camera are usually dumb-founded or give answers that make the audience and/or the questioner laugh (or cry). I used to think it had to be […]