Every year, I get to the part in my high school curriculum where I start to introduce Shakespeare’s Macbeth. And every year, the students complain. “Why do we have to read this?” “What’s even the point of Shakespeare?” “I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now.” “What is this?!” And every year, I tell them […]
effective teaching
Posted inTeacher Self Care
Why Teachers Need A Summer Break
We hear it all the time. “Teaching is easy. You get the whole summer off! What are you complaining about?” Did you roll your eyes too? At this point, it should be obvious as to why teachers need a summer break. This summer, I began to see my summer vacation in a whole new light. […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The High Expectations Myth
The high expectations myth is a pernicious, insidious mantra. It is the notion that if I, as a teacher, say and believe I hold high expectations, it is magically true. Examining actual teaching practices is neither necessary nor worthwhile. I have better things to do. Change or growth or flexibility aren’t needed. It is the […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Responsive Classroom, School Improvement
Silly Socks Don’t Create Culture
I hate to do this, but… Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines culture as, “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” Why would I commit this writing 101 travesty? Because it seems as if a lot of schools do not truly understand what culture is. Before I talk about what […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
Exploring Non-Traditional Education in the Classroom
Why do we have to read The Sea Wolf? William Shakespeare is dead, what does he have to do with us? These are all common problems in any class in 2018-, especially for a newer teacher. Before I began teaching in the classroom setting, I worked in non-traditional education. Non-traditional education is learning through different methods, […]
Posted inInstructional Strategies
The New Teacher Chronicles: The Benefits of Cross-Curricular Education
With the school year beginning to wind down, I’ve been thinking of new ways to improve and update my curriculum for next year. What are some things that worked really well, and what are some things that I want to update? This got me thinking of ways to make my lessons even more hands-on and […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Building Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is the ability to read something, process what is saying, and understand what is saying. As an English teacher, I feel like teaching reading comprehension is one of the most important things that I teach my students. While students can be strong readers, sometimes they struggle with understanding the deeper meaning behind the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Coaching the Coaches: the Benefits of Instructional Coaches
Many teachers consider themselves to be coaches rather than just instructors. We are not just imparting knowledge, but we are there to mentor our students and develop them into becoming better thinkers, writers, readers, doers. We don’t bark orders, rather we kneel down and workshop papers and assist in labs and calculations. It is reasonable to […]