I was doing potty patrol outside in the hallway in deference to my smoke allergy, when a kid came up to me and shoved into my hand a pair of those metal rings that magicians take apart and put back together. They sort of look like twisted polished nails. He bet me I couldn’t get […]
effective teachers
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Rampaging elephants, stolen markers, and the reason we teach
An elephant had waltzed through Anthony’s schoolground the morning of the day I interviewed him. Turns out that’s a thing teachers deal with in rural Uganda. It’s not normal, but not entirely rare either—an elephant will wander through the grounds, calf in tow, looking for some maize or sugarcane to munch on. The kids squeal with […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Men need not apply to be a teacher
A stanza from the infamous anti-war poem ‘Boots’ by poet Rudyard Kipling is highly encouraged to be read in its entirety at a rate of two words per second, to match the sound of marching boots by the thousands of British infantrymen on their crusade in South Africa during the Second Boer War. What teaching […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Instruction & Curriculum
Teaching 102: How to detect and categorize educational rhetoric
In this series of posts, veteran teacher, guide teacher and induction mentor Thomas Courtney bridges the other gap that we don’t talk enough about. That gap, the difference between what we are trained to do in our credential program, what we are asked to do by our employer, what the families and students we serve […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Cultural Resident or Cultural Visitor – How do you identify?
Cultural Resident: Determining cultural impact through residential and intellectual mindset Merriam-Webster defines a resident as “. . . serving in a regular or full-time capacity”. Meaning. Moreover, visitor is defined as, “One who makes formal visits of inspection.” As an instructional leader and teacher in the GREAT city-state of Newark, I’ve had the privilege to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Why Teaching Students to Say “Sorry” Is Not Enough
You’re eight years old, and another student pushes you because they wanted to be first in line. Exasperated, your teacher tells the other child to say “sorry.” “Soooooory,” the child exclaims, rolling their eyes. “Say it like you mean it,” your teacher chides. “Sorry!” the other student yells a little more enthusiastically but still with […]
Posted inMental Health
From Discussion to Instruction: The Mental Health Paradox in Public Education
By Jessica Lyons There seems to be a paradox in public education regarding helping students cope with mental health issues. On the one hand, the federal government is pushing to fund more resources for mental health services. In the past few months, the federal government allocated $188 million to increase access to school-based mental health […]
Posted inMental Health
Pilot Lights, Lighthouses, and Marathons: Channeling Teacher Energy
The Spring Baking Championship is a popular series on the Food Network, and even though this is the ninth season, the most common challenge for the bakers is time management. There is no short supply of articles and memes helping people increase awareness of and build the skill of time management. As an educator, I […]