How to keep your students from going insane after finals
We’re fast approaching the end of the school year, and for many districts, this means a week of finals/end-of-course exams (EOCs). Since my school is already on a block schedule, we don’t modify the classes at all. However, I know that some non-block schools change to two-hour blocks for each period to allow extra for […]
What to do when you get an angry parent email
Like many of you reading this, I’m both a parent and a teacher. Wearing these hats has given me a unique perspective while also a disadvantage – I just might think I know more than my daughter’s teachers. Admittedly, this sounds terrible, but every parent/teacher is guilty of this. You look at the work they take […]
How to approach other teachers when you have social anxiety
In my last post, I urged teachers to get out of their figurative shells and classrooms by outlining 10 things to remember when they wanted to hide out in their classrooms. To my delight, it received more attention than I’d anticipated! Several teachers left comments on the blog, Facebook, and even Instagram thanking me for […]
10 things to remember when you want to hide out in your classroom
Being a teacher is definitely one of the most rewarding professions, but it can also be quite lonely. Overburdened with the workload, many teachers isolate themselves, both out of choice and necessity. Staying in the classroom to work through lunch is normal, late afternoons and evenings grading is nothing new, and walking the long way […]
The biggest mistake new teachers can make
You may have noticed from my previous posts that I’m a fairly reflective teacher I’ll admit when I make a mistake in teaching I like to pass on the wisdom gleaned from those mistakes. I especially feel a sense of duty to share everything I’ve learned these past 16 with new teachers. I mean, let’s […]
5 things I wish I knew when I started teaching
Every seasoned teacher will tell a new one that the first year is the hardest, and understandably so. First-year teachers face an insurmountable challenge of trying to balance classroom culture, classroom management, teaching to the standards, assessment, professional development, staff responsibilities, and home life, to name a few. However, part of surviving that first year […]
What to do when it seems like nothing you’re doing is working
Educators know that all-too-familiar feeling of desperately trying to teach an important skill or concept, only to be faced with a sea of blank and/or confused faces. We try and try again, convinced that we found the right angle, and nothing changes. It’s as if our teaching has suddenly become ineffective, even if we’ve taught for […]
