A six-foot-ish seventh grade student sits with knees pressing the desk nearly off the floor, hunched over his device scrolling up and down to solve the mathematics equations of the new-not-new state test. The once blanket of snow beyond the window over his shoulder is …
A few evenings ago, I posted the following message on my Facebook page: Educators: Stop filling “gifted” students’ heads with biases against “regular” students. The problem is yours, and you’re infecting children with it. Comments immediately popped up. One woman wrote that this had happened …
Within a week of starting this school year, junior high students spent about four days taking a reading test (MAP, Measures of Academic Progress) on our new Chromebooks. It took four days, in part, because we had wi-fi problems causing the computer-based test to stall or …
I took this picture on the beach of Gulf Shores, Alabama as I waded in and out of the waves trying to get nice pic. We had just driven south from Chicago through towns displaying the Confederate flag, and, in light of recent Supreme …
In this season of testing, teachers can easily sink into disillusionment with our institution. We may feel that the federal government, state, school, and principals are “doing this to us” or “putting students through this,” see the injustices of many hours of testing and less instruction, and believe we have no recourse. However, we forget that we are part of the institution and can shape its structures. For me, that means taking this opportunity to visit the classrooms of my colleagues, see my students in different settings, and, above all, notice the hope around me.
“Colleen.” Colleen stood up. A quiet kid who was easily swayed off-task by more extraverted students, Colleen loved to have side conversations with me about life. She was always curious about what we were learning and why, and she was ready to share her poem. …