Kevin M. McIntosh’s short stories have appeared in the American Literary Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, Potomac Review, Chicago Tribune and have been nominated for Best New American Voices and the Pushcart Prize. He has had fellowships at the Ragdale Foundation and Blue Mountain Center. His novel Class Dismissed (Regal House Publishing, July 2021) is informed […]
classroom management
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Using Rituals to Survive Remote Learning
Early in the pandemic I found myself preparing for Passover at home. I would not be traveling home to celebrate the Jewish festival of freedom with my family this year. I was profoundly sad to celebrate this holiday at home alone. But at the same time I found enormous comfort and strength in preparing to […]
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Y.M.C.A (You Must Conquer Adversity)
Guest Writer-Kwame Sarfo-Mensah During my sophomore year at Temple, I began working at the Columbia North YMCA, which is located about five minutes away from Temple’s main campus. Working at the YMCA gave me my first real exposure to working with kids from urban communities. My interactions with them allowed me to learn about their […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
This is Not the Teacher I Wanted To Be
“This is the not the teacher I wanted to be.” From time to time, I stand in front of my students, eyes filled with tears, while this thought repeats itself over and over again. I’m not sure when I first realized it, but once I did, there was no going back. I wake up every […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
“Why Didn’t Anyone Help Me?” The Truth Behind Abused Teachers Who Took Matters Into Their Own Hands
When the articles pop up on my timeline, I’m quick to click the link to each and every article that looks or sounds like this: “Teacher assaults student” “Educator and student fights” “Teacher fired after brawl with student” What I find to be interesting is that many, if not all of the teachers involved in […]
Posted inThe State of Education
Is School Boring? A Closer Look Into A Problem That Plagues Most Schools
I never found school boring when I was in high school. Challenging and frustrating? Yes, but never boring. So it always comes as a bit of a shock to me when students tell me how boring they find their high school classes today. The interesting thing about boring, of course, is that boring tends to […]
Posted inClassroom Management
Putting the S in PBIS
Almost 26,000 schools across the U.S. are implementing Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS). A central characteristic of this Department of Education-funded initiative is customization. There is no one “right way” to implement PBIS and implementation is likely to differ across systems, schools and even individual classrooms. Intervention tiers are built around the principles of […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Organizing Discussions on Controversial Topics
We are always challenging students to think differently: branch out, think outside the box, get out of their comfort zone. As a social studies teacher, I’m often trying to incorporate issues and ideas into our study or conversations that are relevant to students’ lives; things they may be facing now, or will likely deal with […]