Ever since the 2002 reauthorization of ESEA—otherwise known as No Child Left Behind—a day doesn’t pass without talk of education reform. The media tell us our schools are failing students, our teachers are exhausted, and our parents are dissatisfied.  As much as we can agree that our nation’s schools are struggling, it is not as […]
citizenship
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
I Think I Failed You – A Civics Teacher’s Letter to her Former Students
Dear Former Students, I have started this letter a thousand times in my head in the last week. It’s hard to get past the first line: I fear I may have failed you as your Civics teacher. You have probably known me for many years as the one person in your life with unfailing trust […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Social Studies
Social Studies Facts American Students Should Know: The American Government and Geography Edition
As a 6th-12th grade social studies teacher for the past 6 years, I have seen my fair share of students. I taught high school during a time of many standards changes were taking place here in Georgia. I would get a group of high school students who always claimed that they didn’t remember (or they weren’t taught the […]