As a teacher, I am expected in less than 16 days to leave my children at home and risk my life to teach high school math to a group of 150+ smiling (and sometimes snarky) 15 year-olds. I’m expected to accommodate students throughout the day in small groups, all while continually assessing their areas of […]
COVID-19
Posted inBack to School
2020: An Educator’s Summer of Waiting on COVID-19
When the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed, I knew there would be a new event that would test the mettle of educators, students, parents, and other stakeholders in education. It’s trivia-based, and it has only one question. It’s called “What the hell happens in the fall?” COLLEGE What happens in college is as varied as […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Considering Opening Schools in the Fall? Think Students and Teachers First. Not Adults
What a crazy ride 2020 has been. At the beginning of this school year, I don’t think anyone would have thought that we would end like this. Seniors weren’t afforded the experience of attending prom or graduation. Fifth graders weren’t able to say goodbye to their primary teachers before going off to middle school. Eighth […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Let the Pandemic be the Mother of Innovation in Schools
The school year is winding down and the states are opening up. Some people are wondering how this summer is going to shape up. Will we be traveling? Having backyard barbecues? Going to the beach? Will we see a resurgence of COVID 19? Educators (and parents), however, are looking toward the fall. Will schools reopen? […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Red for Ed Has Gone Rotten: School Funding+The Great Recession +COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an incredibly stressful and scary time for many, and for teachers, it has been no different. When the pandemic first kicked off many of us felt very grateful because at least we had jobs and could pay our bills when we knew so many in other industries were not as […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Three Runners, Two Zacks, and One Call to Action: Teachers Play a Larger Role in Combating Racism and Hate
On Friday, May 8, 2020, I hit the empty, quarantined streets of my local Atlanta neighborhood and united in solidarity with people around the United States as we ran 2.23 miles in honor of Ahmaud Arbery. It was on February 23 that the unarmed Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in Glynn County, Georgia […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Schools Are Closed, But Educational Inequality Remains
Inequality in education exists. I have observed it from the beginning of my career in a relatively poor area of Philadelphia. It is real and it has gotten worse over the years. I began teaching about a decade after President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society was implemented. The middle school where I taught had its cornerstone […]
Posted inCOVID
Opinion: Teacher Tribes, Now More Important Than Ever
by Elizabeth Schreidber M.Ed. Isolation, self-doubt, insecurity, fear, fatigue, depression, loneliness, anxiety, insomnia, stress, disconnect, disinterest, sorrow, lethargy, grief, frustration, irritability, distress, the list goes on and on. Welcome to COVID-19 distance learning. As teachers we discuss regularly how our students and families are experiencing each of these emotions, we take it on as the […]