Something happened to me the past week that I’ve never experienced in my years of teaching: I had one student accuse another student of touching him inappropriately. You can only imagine the chaos that has ensued over the past week and a half, and we still don’t have a resolution to this difficult situation.  Because I own my […]
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Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Harnessing Competition
I have a room full of highly competitive students. Most of them are first born or only children and their natural wiring towards competition can drive a teacher crazy! Instead of trying to stifle their exemplary leadership skills, I use it for my advantage. Not to the point of pitting one against the other, but […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher
Easing Those First Day Jitters
It is so important to make our students feel comfortable upon the first day of school. We need to remember the backgrounds that our students come from. And we can’t assume that just because we have kids in the middle class that they are coming from homes that have everything together. We also need to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Making All Students Feel At Ease
It is so important to make our students feel comfortable upon the first day of school. We need to remember the backgrounds that our students come from. And we can’t assume that just because we have kids from middle-class homes that they are coming from places that have everything together. We also need to remember […]
Posted inChild Development, Current Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Middle School, New Teacher Bootcamp, School Improvement, Teacher Burnout
The Final Days of School
Charles Swindoll said, “Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, money, circumstances, than failures and success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, ability or skill. It will make or break a business, a home, a friendship, an organization. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Redefining Education
I’m a big picture sort of person. I like to think about the larger scope of things and how the here and now feeds into the larger scheme of things. Sometimes this is a huge curse, seeing as how I live somewhat in a fairytale-type of mentality most of the time. Yet I have been […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Parents
Out of the Mouths of Parents:10 Things That Parents Have Actually Said
Ahhhhhh….. Christmas break. I’ve been waiting for this vacation since October when the honeymoon phase of a new school year began wearing off and the realization of ‘normality’ set in. This break allows me time to reflect, piece my weary self back together and recall some of the craziest things that parents have said this […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines
What My Second Graders Have Taught Me- A First Semester Reflection
Well, I can officially say that I survived my first semester of teaching. I’m not sure that if I had climbed Mount Everest I’d feel much different. Averaging about five and a half hours of sleep a night, I have to thank Starbucks for helping me through the days where caffeine was my only hope […]