Week 5/28 – 5/31 I try not to complain much; I usually just go with the flow. But sometimes, when you take the “go with the flow” attitude, you sometimes can be taken advantage of or even disregarded. When I was first hired at my school, it was as an Educational Specialist with my teaching […]
effective teachers
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum
The Charismatic Teacher
How many of us can be considered “charismatic?” Are you the sort of person from whom others derive strength? As teachers, we are often faced with instances where we are asked to be the wellspring of inspiration, drive, and positive attitudes for others. One of the discussions at the Learning and the Brain Symposium at […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instructional Strategies
Classroom Culture and Student Self-esteem: Four Strategies for Next Year
Aaah, May. The time of year when many of us look at our students with a sigh of “what could I have done better?” At my school, we have only five class meetings left, and while I am doing the best I can with the time we have, I have found myself focusing on how […]
Posted inCharter Schools, High School
Take Me Out To the Ball Game – Teaching Responsibility (Charter School Diaries #20)
Week 5/20 – 5/24 When you work with children, there is never a dull moment. I may be repeating myself, but it is a very true phrase. It is because children do some foolish things. At times, it can be funny and other times, it can be very serious. When you are dealing with high […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion, The Unemployed Teacher
The End of the Year Means the End of a Job for Many Teachers
The end of the school year is usually a time of concluding lessons, wrapping up projects, packing up classrooms, and looking forward to a bit of recovery time (however brief it might be). Most of all, it brings a huge sigh of relief – the school year has been conquered! But for many teachers this […]
Posted inCharter Schools, High School, School Improvement
The Necessity of Redundancy about our Students (Charter School Diaries #19)
Week 5/13 – 5/17 Many of my articles revolve around teachers and students, and I fear that I am redundant at times. But then I have to remember that I am writing about school experiences that include teachers and students; among whom there is never a dull moment. One thing I am sure about when it comes […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
Endings and Beginnings
By: Jane Rhodes As the school year ends for so many of us in the next few weeks, it is easy to be caught up in business of grading final assignments, attending end-of-year assemblies, finally cleaning out our classrooms (do we really need to keep all those paper towels tubes for projects next year?), and […]
Posted inOpinion
Jeff Bliss: Ignorance Is Bliss Or Is Bliss Just Ignorant?
Recently, I saw this video in which an angry student named Jeff Bliss went on a tirade against his teacher because he felt she wasn’t actively teaching the students in her class. After a few minutes of Internet surfing, I stumbled upon this article, in which Bliss is touted as the poster boy for educational […]