We got the kids back. So why is it still so hard to reach them? Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Like many educators, I was excited when we managed to reopen our little Washington DC charter school last August. As middle school principal, I’d […]
opinion
Posted inPedagogy
Why I Stopped Using Writing Rubrics
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In my English and writing courses, I always love to share the following Anne Lamott quote with students: “…writing needs to breathe and move.” To further expand on this quote, I explain that writing cannot be constricted in a […]
Posted inOpinion
The Toxic Positivity Propaganda Machine
In order to change destructive patterns, we need to stop pretending they aren’t there. Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! For what feels like the thousandth time, I am laying in bed at 4:00 p.m. Exhausted from the teacher workday and too drained to be […]
Posted inOpinion
A Teacher’s Plan for Elon Musk’s $44 Billion
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I wish I didn’t know the name Elon Musk. But when someone buys so much cultural influence, it’s tough to avoid hearing about how he shoots himself into space. His latest endeavor, buying Twitter for $44 billion, made me […]
Posted inOpinion
How Green Energy Can Transform Schools
It’s Time to Bring Education Infrastructure into the 21st Century Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! We were living in Houston in February 2021 when a string of disastrous winter weather hit. We watched as the entire state slowly shut down over the course of a […]
Posted inOpinion
Children Don’t Avoid “Divisive” Topics, And Neither Can We
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! As a primary teacher, I had interesting and sometimes challenging conversations on a regular basis. Young children do not limit their comments and questions to what’s “age-appropriate” or what is or isn’t “divisive.” They are trying to figure out […]
Posted inPedagogy
Red Light! It’s Time to Take Digital Literacy Seriously
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Several months ago, my fifth-grade class asked me to play Red Light, Green Light. Not typically a game my fifth graders request, it came as a surprise. Later that week I watched the first episode of a very grown-up […]
Posted inOpinion
A High School Teacher’s Case for Early Childhood Educators
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I knew that I wanted to be a high school English teacher from the time I was a freshman in high school. But as the child of a SAHM, I had also convinced myself that I was destined for […]