Less than two months ago, I applied for a grant at donorschoose.org out of pure desperation. I needed supplies for my classroom and I didn’t see any other way that would happen with the current budget crisis in effect. Where I’m at, the special education budget has hit on all-time low, so our resources are […]
from the front lines
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured
All Professions Deserve Summers Off
It’s amazing how many non-teacher Americans get angry, frustrated, and even downright rude about a teacher’s summer. When June comes around, so follows resentment. The vitriol is then repeated in late August when students report back to school. But here’s the thing – these people need to channel their criticisms towards producing a greater cultural shift. […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Series, Social Studies
The Traveling Teacher: Lewis and Clark in Missoula, Montana
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] In my previous travels, I’ve visited both Philadelphia and Denver. After a 3-day respite at home, I headed back for the Mountain Time Zone to experience all that Big Sky Country […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
Why I Support Teacher Tenure
I’m a teacher. I have tenure. This gives me staying power and job security. My job isn’t supposed to be political – it’s supposed to be about teaching student. For that reason, tenure is something I feel that I need in my profession. Why? As a social studies teacher, I need academic freedom. It’s my […]
Posted inFeatured, Interviews, Series
Inspirational Educator – Melissa Seideman
Teachers take note – Melissa Seideman is changing the way you think about our profession. This social studies instructor from upstate New York has iron in many fires – from being a co-director of #sschat to using technology in her classroom almost daily to hosting a Gilder Lehrman Reconstruction workshop this summer, she is as […]
Posted inFeatured, Middle School
Off-Team Blues in Middle School
The final bell rang and I look out over the sea of empty desks in my classroom. “Where is everyone?” I ask the spattering of students who showed up. The response: “Team 2 has a field trip today.” Ah. It’s not easy being an ‘off-team teacher’ in a team-based middle school. We are always the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Opinion
AP Test Season: A Cocoon That Never Becomes The Butterfly
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Every year I tell myself I am not going to do it. This will be the year when I don’t work myself into a frenzied state of irrational dissonance from which […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Interviews
Inspirational Educator: Sarah Shourd
Sarah Shourd is a teacher. She is a writer. She is a reformer. But most of all, Sarah Shourd inspires us all by surviving 14 months of solitary confinement in Iran. Yes, after spending time educating the refugees of Syria in their new homes in Iraq, Ms. Shourd decided to take a leisurely hike in […]