Deep Passion.Great Teaching. IGNITED
The pledge of allegiance is and always will be a controversial topic. With the increasing focus on inclusiveness based on linguistics, race, gender, and religion trying to find a balance can sometimes be difficult for advocates on both sides of the aisle. The end of the school year is a stressful time for teacher because we have so much to do. It’s not unusual for teachers to bump heads at … Read More →
My classroom is a safe space for students to pretty much talk about anything. Last week as the students walked into the classroom they were talking about what subjects that they liked. I didn’t really pay much attention to the conversation until Julia looked at me and said, “I like Social Studies and I’m really good at it.” I smiled and nodded in agreement. Shortly after Julia made her statement … Read More →
“Miss Williams, what will you give us if we do good on our test?” said one of my students. My response was, ” A pat on the back.” When teachers implement an ineffective classroom management system most teachers will resort to trying to bribing students into good behavior. I have seen teachers give students multiple pizza parties, ice cream, candy, toys, and other items to try to get students to … Read More →
Anchor charts are the new mandate for educators across the country. Like with most education mandates the implementation can be compared to a California wildfire. Simply put, out of control! What are the Benefits of Anchor Charts? According to Expeditionary Learning, anchor charts: build a culture of literacy in the classroom, as teachers and students make thinking visible by recording content, strategies, processes, cues, and guidelines during the learning process. anchor … Read More →
It has been 3 months since the election. After Donald Trump officially became the President my students have tried to discuss the election, however every single time they brought up the topic I would stop the conversation. I wasn’t trying to be mean but I wasn’t ready. I teach at an urban school and I knew that the conversation was going to be intense. When the students wanted to discuss … Read More →
I never thought that I would witness the kind of insanity that has taken place with the election of Donald Trump. Our elected officials from both the Democrat and Republican parties have basically failed to do their jobs. As a result, constituents on both sides of the fence are angry. Donald Trump has been in office for little over a month and many Republican voters are experiencing the equivalent of … Read More →
The day after the election saying that I was depressed is an understatement. One would think that I was depressed because Donald Trump won but that would be the furthest from the truth. I was so depressed because I dreaded going to work the day after the election to face my students. I work at a predominantly Hispanic school and I knew how hurt they would be if Donald Trump … Read More →
Small group instruction is great, workstations not so much! Every week I am in awe of how many administrators and support personnel offer workstations as a solution for students who struggle with certain concepts. I have learned that silence is golden whenever I am offered workstations as a solution to any of my teaching problems. Here are 5 ugly truths that you should know about workstations before you implement them … Read More →
I hear administrators tell teachers that they should be using data to drive their instruction. I’m not sure if they understand that teachers have to be taught to track and use data. It just doesn’t happen by osmosis. I didn’t realize it until recently that analyzing and interpreting data is not easy for a whole lot of teachers. Data Tracking There are many different data sources of that you can track. … Read More →
This school year was supposed to be different than last school year. What began as excitement about the new school year has slowly turned into despair because I feel like my instruction is being held hostage by my principal. Resistance Last summer I spent my time reflecting and planning for this school year. Only to return to school and have my ideas met with resistance by my administrator. At the … Read More →
