To buy Cari’s book that details her sudden unemployment, “How to Finish the Test When Your Pencil Breaks” please click here. Summer Break! It’s almost here, and within the next month, most teachers across the country will have at least a few minutes to breath a sigh of relief.  These days, it feels like there is […]
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The Necessity of Redundancy about our Students (Charter School Diaries #19)
Week 5/13 – 5/17 Many of my articles revolve around teachers and students, and I fear that I am redundant at times.  But then I have to remember that I am writing about school experiences that include teachers and students; among whom there is never a dull moment. One thing I am sure about when it comes […]
The Final Countdown! Activities for the Last Days of School
May always comes in with a gust and flies by. I scramble to reflect on the year, cram in last-minute curriculum, organize parents and lunches for field trips & play day, wrap my head around the data that must be collected, input data into spreadsheets, finalize grades & collect back work to finalize grades, make thank […]
The Current State of Education in New York: "The Hunger Games" (Part 3)
The Hunger Games series is powerful as an authentic text due to its messages of speaking out when something is wrong, and of fighting back against the bully. This is a tenet that many teachers not only preach, but practice in their classrooms.   Choose to do the right thing. Choose to speak out. Choose to […]
Modeling Respectful Behavior (Charter School Diaries #17)
Week 4/29 – 5/3 I am a loner at work… well, maybe it is better said that I don’t go out of my way to be seen. I really just keep to myself; chalk that up to the fact that I am an only child. I really don’t want to be bothered with people – […]
A Day In The Life of A Rural Classroom
Teaching in a small town has many perks. I am teaching in the room I learned in as a student. I know many of my families before they step through our classroom door the first day of school. Running errands around town brings smiles, hellos, hugs, and many quick conversations as I run into students […]
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 […]
Confrontations, Conflict & Anger Management (Charter School Diaries #15)
Week 4/15-4/19 Our lives are not without confrontations and conflict. Confrontations and conflict, although many times unpleasant, is a part of the human experience. People are dynamic and adaptive individuals; one minute we’re hot, the next we’re cold and our moods and desires shift with the way we feel physically and emotionally. Add a number […]