Coronavirus-canceled testing brings an opportunity. As a teacher and parent in the state of New York, news that standardized testing might be canceled this year brings mixed emotions. I suspected the closures due to COVID-19 might come to this, and for many years I have been pretty open about my personal feelings about abuse-by-test. My […]
coronavirus
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
If History Teaches Us Anything, It’s We Overcome
I teach American history most days to an engaged, amazing group of students. But this week, they didn’t want to engage in history; instead, they want to engage in the present. These 8th-grade students have plenty of questions, as many of us do. There are some who shared they have family members with COVID-19 – one in Chester […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Dear Teachers: There Are Many Things That No Longer Matter
Dear Colleagues: Please allow me to write an open letter to you. We face the possibility that March 13, 2020 (or earlier) was the last time we will see our students during the 2019-2020 school year. I walked out of school on Monday, March 16, 2020, with a fellow teacher who told me: “Laura, this […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching in the Midst of the Corona Crisis
On Friday afternoon everyone in my classroom suddenly fell silent as we waited for the bell to ring. “I’ll see everyone on Monday, I hope. But who knows?” I had meant it as a throwaway sentiment, a verbal filler to occupy the dead air before the bell rang, ending the oddest, most surreal week in […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s Taken a Pandemic To Save the Mental Health of Teachers
As I sit here to write this piece, it’s 5:09 pm on the east coast and I have just made it in after a long day of preparing to be out of school for at least two weeks due to the Coronavirus pandemic occurring around the world. While the world has seemingly broken into a […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Has Your School Closed Due to Coronavirus? If So, Here Are Some Resources
Across the country, schools are preparing for long-term closures. Use these resources below to help students stay on track and parents be sane! We will add to this list hourly. Just leave us a comment with the resource. Curriculum Associates: Reading:Grade K | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 Mathematics:Grade K | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade […]
Posted inSocial Studies
Teaching in a Time of Coronavirus Anxiety
Every day I cover at least one current event topic with my sophomore Global History and Geography classes. Recently, only one issue dominates the coronavirus. We began our discussions a month ago by looking at China and predicting the impact on the economy. As the days progressed, we viewed pictures taken by NASA showing diminishing […]