We started our school year this week, and I have a small class of very eager kids. They love to learn, want to participate in everything and have some great ideas of their own. As I stood in class moving from one activity to another, I was preparing to ask my students what THEY hoped […]
Tips for Student Success
Posted inBack to School
First, We Must Educate The Heart
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” – Aristotle Teachers, have you thought about this challenge? How will you educate the heart this year? Childhood – especially the middle school years – can seem like a crazy-making manic time for kids. One minute they’re sweet young and innocent, most interested […]
Posted inBack to School
A Teacher Prepares for that First Month
That first month of school Some of those reading this have already gone “back to school.” I am a teacher squeezing the last bit of summer out of the break from my regular school year work, and as soon as I’m home it is “game on” again. But don’t let the well oiled machine of […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
I Don’t Teach To the Test, But I Still Play the Game
If you “teach to the test,” you are a slave to the system, right? I personally despise standardized tests, and in fact, when it comes to high school English classes, I would do away with midterms, final exams, and most typical tests altogether if I could. But since I do have to play the game, I […]
Posted inFeatured
6 Lessons I Learned as a First Year Teacher
As a fresh-out-of-college, first year teacher, I had a mind full of ideas and expectations and a heart full of passion. Now, beginning my second year, I have the same enthusiasm on top of a year’s worth of lessons learned. I know that there are still plenty of lessons to be learned, but there are […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Part 3: Adventures in Real Word English/Language Arts – Let Them Be Great
I love English Language Arts (ELA), but real world ELA can be eye opening. I have been teaching my Technical Writing class for two weeks now. And I have had my share of ups and downs. I’ve always taken myself seriously as an educator. My love of literature and writing always translates easily into the classroom. […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Teaching Class (With Class)
In the past, we’ve explored the “10 Ways to Fix Education” mini-series. We’re resurrecting this topic, and one way I’d like to fix education is teaching class (with class). This homophone highlights two items that should be at the forefront of our working memory and, well, our work. The first association – class, a noun […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Seventeen-Year Veteran Teacher’s Regrets: The Grade Game
In the many years I’ve been teaching, I’ve often wished that I could just have a group of students who smilingly followed my every instruction. But beyond instruction, one of my biggest goals as a teacher was to get my students to think for themselves. However, it was difficult to reflect that goal in my grading […]