Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! In other industries, when someone hates their job they think “it’s time to move on from my company.” The first thought at that point is not “I need to get out of [this career].” But for teachers, when they […]
teaching
Posted inCOVID
This is Not the Way it Should Feel to Teach
What’s up with teaching. There is something amazing about that first sip of coffee on an almost cold enough to snow Sunday morning. Even at pretend 4:30 AM (because it’s still 5:30 real AMs to me), and at sixty-three real degrees in my living room, even though I have the thermostat set for what I […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
4 Ways This Teacher Is Thankful
Teachers are constantly pushing. Pushing students to write better. Pushing them to read more challenging materials. Pushing them to make better arguments. Pushing them to practice their music. Then, when students master the task at hand, teachers find something else to improve. It’s implicit in the job. This constant drive to grow and be better […]
Posted inCOVID
Remote Elementary Teaching Sucks. Get Over It and Prepare for Survival
This remote teaching thing sucks, but I realize it’s not about me. What am I going to do about it? I have no magic wand to wave to make COVID go away or to have students do school the way they should be able to without all the social distancing and with all the snack-sharing, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
[Opinion Piece] Why Do You Love Teaching?
Guest Writer: Meran Khon Meran Khon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Spring Arbor University and a Master of Education in Middle-Level Education degree from Walden University. She taught seventh-grade language arts and a third-grade self-contained classroom before reinventing the library and computer lab into a twenty-first-century Learning Lab/Maker Space, where she currently teaches […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Standards-Based Grading Must Die
For those unaware, standards-based grading is a popular evaluation system designed to simplify teaching, learning, and assessment. It strips a student’s grade down to their ability to meet the announced standards. The idea is that students will learn more easily if teachers grade based upon very explicit and clear standards. Moreover, by standardizing the grading […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Up At Night, Thinking of My Students’ Well-Being – Here’s Why, and What We Can Do About It
I have a confession to make: since school doors have closed and education has moved online, I have slept terribly. Insomnia arouses my slumber around 2 or 3 a.m., and I tend to look at the ceiling for an hour before trodding downstairs for my first cup of coffee. What’s cajoling this 8th-grade teacher into […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The New Normal: Teaching is as it Should Be
Here we go again. Many people are struggling with the new normal surrounding education and COVID-19. The kids have too much work. The teachers aren’t doing enough. It’s all busywork. Can you believe there are 5 live class meetings each week? Can you believe there is only 1 live meeting a week? How will students […]