TL;DR: There are a lot of radical changes occurring in education these days. Remember your “why” for going into teaching. Connect with a network of teachers to find support and grow. Globally, many teachers face radical changes to education laws and rules in their state. Educators can feel like chess pieces with salary schedule changes, book bans, and bathroom bills. … Read More
The Reluctant Leader: First Things First
TL;DR: Being a leader, even a reluctant one, provides you with opportunities to make a difference. You can achieve great things when you have a true partnership with your administration. If you are passionate about something and know it is best for the students, go for it. The Reluctant Leader: First Things First When I first joined Plano High School, … Read More
You Have Two Seconds
TL;DR: You have two seconds to grab and hold your students’ attention. They have conditioned their brains to consume content they wish to consume for short periods of time. Students lacking attention, focus, and respect for elders is not something new so how do we become better teachers tomorrow than we are today? Three principles that help us be better … Read More
Spice Up Your Writing Block
TL;DR: Here is an inspirational, engaging writing activity to spice up your literacy program. Provide images for students to write creative captions. Provide an image for students to craft a news story or article for the newspaper. Compose captions for short stories with photos for students to match. Provide a photo and ask your learners to compose a conversation that … Read More
Student Voice: The Power of the Experienced Curriculum
TL;DR: The written curriculum and taught curriculum are different from the experienced curriculum. Teachers should find ways to obtain feedback from students on their experienced curriculum. Hundreds of books and articles have been written addressing the curriculum in schools. Teachers and administrators have read books describing the written, taught, assessed, enriched, prioritized, or guaranteed curricula. In addition to these common … Read More