It was just a lesson on folktales, really. We’ve been reading a variety of stories from around the world in my 8th grade English classroom – sometimes with partners or small groups, but yesterday I asked my students to tackle reading “Davy Crockett” alone. Their essential question was familiar at this point: “What do folktales […]
students
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Uncategorized
Community Schools – What Are They?
Community Schools have recently caught my attention as they are coming to my home city of Philadelphia. James Kenney, the newly elected mayor is interested in converting 25 schools in the city to community schools. He is a supporter of both public education and improving all neighborhoods in the city. What Are Community Schools? By […]
Posted inAsk a Teacher, Current Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Kindergarten, Opinion
Ready or Redshirt? When To Send Your Child To Kindergarten: An Educator's Perspective
It’s no secret that there are more birthdays in August, September, and October than any other month. In fact, LiveScience’s 2006 study has only become more cemented by our culture and propensity for the late summer and early fall birthdays. There are many factors related to the cause of that trend, but the greatest overall […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
A Teacher’s Thanks
Thanksgiving has come and gone. I wish we could have had a few more days, goodness knows we all could have used them, but I am happy to get back to my students. I have missed them. Life has been a tad quiet without them. We are coming to the end of the year and […]
Posted inFeatured
Five Items For EVERY Teacher’s Christmas List
Now that the Christmas season is upon us, it isn’t too early to consider what presents we would like to request from our friends and family. My list is far from exhaustive and highly subjective, but as the New Year beckons, the average teacher desperately needs both inspiration and rest. To this end, I offer […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
What Makes a Great Unit?
With so many skills and so many concepts, units are a necessity. We can become overwhelmed with the amount of material we have to cover in a short time. I have learned I only focus on one unit at a time. A unit is a set amount of skills or concepts tied to a literary […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Principals' Corner, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Zero Tolerance For Zero Tolerance
As Russell J. Skiba points out in his research on zero-tolerance policies, it’s quite difficult to find the “moment” when our schools implemented zero-tolerance policies in our school, but we can trace the impact of them to the 1994 Free Schools Act as a time when districts were quick to suspend students for fear of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, Social Justice
Police, Black Students, and Teachers
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the video clip of Ben Fields, Richland County (SC) school resource officer, where he picked up a young lady (who was black) and pulled her from her chair. I’ve done so because it astounds me that this situation occurred in our schools, but what also stuns […]