I support a team of approximately 25 high school literacy teachers, some seasoned but the vast majority of them are bright-eyed, young, and new to the profession. Many of those newbies, despite never having studied education, have bravely taken on the fight in our cause for enlightening minds! With my team especially, combined with the… Continue reading 12 Self-Care Tips for Teachers
So, you’ve made it down the home stretch and the finish line is finally in sight. Congratulations for reaching this milestone, particularly this year with all the challenges that Covid-19 so graciously provided to educators across the globe. Although many teachers, understandably, believe that once state-mandated testing is over, its time to chillax for a… Continue reading 3 Stellar Ways to Wrap Up the School Year
3 Steps to Teaching for Student Mastery Citing textual evidence is one of those seemingly easy things that actually strikes students as quite difficult. So, what is it about the standard that trips them up? Schools across the country assess students regularly to monitor their progress on the standards. The one commonality among most is… Continue reading Citing Evidence
If only the outside world knew how much time teachers dedicated to preparing for the new school year during their 'summer vacation' they'd know by now that we are all scouring the internet from Pinterest, Instagram, TpT and the like looking for new and creative ways to engage our students. Add distance learning to that… Continue reading Attracting Students: Day One
Distance learning and teaching through Google classroom is something teachers and schools have been doing for many years already. New and improved versions of distance learning platforms, like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, keep popping up every day. However, with the recent spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), both teachers and parents are looking for ways to… Continue reading FREE DIGITAL RESOURCES for Distance Learning
The Natural Consequences of Distance Learning In the back of our minds, we all knew that COVID19’s forced distance learning for students would highlight the great digital divide that lies between the haves and have-nots. Equally, it would showcase those tech-savvy educators and leave the rest of the dinosaurs out in the cold. There lay… Continue reading Learning Lessons the Hard Way
Today I had my friend's 9th grade class join mine; some of the freshman I knew while others I didn't. I do know, however, that many of her kids have reputations of being severely disruptive and have previously been placed in EBD (Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities) classes. (Similar to my 11th grade partner teacher next… Continue reading What is It That Makes Them Listen?
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. - Carl Sagan During my restless period of the school year, most commonly the point when I start questioning if there is 'more' that can be done to reach 'more', I usually start to troll for job options by throwing out my resume'. This year, no different… Continue reading The Perfect Wave
If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you. - Fred Devito It always seems that at early points in a school year, I find myself saying, " There has got to be more." Another way to reach kids. Another form of serving the needs of teachers. Another way of reaching greater numbers. Another way… Continue reading Embracing the Challenge
Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go. - E.L. Doctorow So I've always likened teaching writing to painting a room in the house. It takes so long to collect all of the materials, pouring the paint from the can into the paint tray can be messy, taping off trim… Continue reading Writing… a Messy Art
