Whether you are starting your new year in-person or online, part of that process undoubtedly involves considering how you will get to know and build rapport with your students. There are endless options to choose from, and if you are like me, you probably implement multiple every year to ease students in the first week […]
COVID-19
Posted inFeatured
DON’T BE FOOLED: The Fall Will Be Difficult, But Teachers Were Demoralized Long Before COVID-19
Yes, the next few months of American education might well go down as the most challenging time in the careers of most classroom teachers. But the waves of change instigated by the Coronavirus crisis should not obscure the real story of American education. It is this story that policy-makers and parents should heed. While the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
This Year Will Be a Lost School Year
Everyone is anxious about the upcoming school year. Parents need and want their kids in school. Teachers miss the personal interactions that define teaching. Truth be told, I think everyone misses the structure and security of having schools open. But, many people realize we don’t have control of a contagious disease ravaging our communities. Instead […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop Saying, “Of Course We Want to Be Back in Classrooms with Kids…”
Guest Writer: Emma Martin In the past 5 months as a teacher during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has viewed educators in different ways. First, we were seen as heroes. Champions for students who put on our capes and, in mere days, rescued our kids from quarantine with online activities, social Zoom check-ins, driveway hellos, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Teachers Are Not Babysitters and I’m Not Returning Back to School
This morning at 6:59 am, I submitted my resignation from teaching in my district on our online portal while I was watching the morning news. Before I hit “submit” I had a moment where I felt guilt over, but three seconds later, it passed and I decided to choose me over my district. After suddenly […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
When Schools Go Virtual: Don’t Blame the Teachers!
School districts across the country are making decisions about whether or not students will be attending classes in person this fall. Last night, my district opted for virtual instruction for the first semester of the school year. Almost immediately after the announcement what was a chorus of praise supporting teachers last spring felt like a […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines
Before a New School Year Begins, We Must Grieve
I was walking with a teacher friend this weekend and discussing the uncertainty of the next school year. “I want to sit on the rug with all of my students on the first day of school,” I said. “I want to read our first day of school read aloud.” The image practically brought tears to […]
Posted inCOVID-19
They Can’t Fire Us All: Illegal Striking in the Time of COVID-19
All it takes is opening up social media, turning on the news, or checking the headlines to see a parade of opinions about opening up schools in the fall. Unfortunately, the opinion getting the most attention is that teachers should sit down, shut up, and get back in the classroom regardless of the circumstances of […]