In an ideal world, parent/teacher conferences lead to meaningful dialogue about student progress, next steps to improve and an overall feeling of shared effort between the parent, teacher and (sometimes) student. In my 12 years of teaching, however, this has rarely been the case. What are the obstacles? For one, many parents of students with …
Author Archives: sara anne liebman
Another One
I was saddened this morning when I heard of yet another school shooting. This one was in CA. Really, when will enough be enough? I was a senior in high school when the Columbine shooting happened and that was 20 years ago and nothing’s changed. In fact, things have gotten worse. There have been so …
Sick Day
As soon as I see a text from daycare I know. “Your child has a fever. Please come pick her up.” And I do, of course. It was only an hour earlier than usual, but I got there as fast as I could. This morning, both girls did not feel well so I made the …
The Other Side of the Table Part 2
My daughters are currently in daycare, but most of the kids leave after they turn 2 for preschool programs. They will be turning 2 in a few months, but we’ve decided to keep them where they are at least until the summer. However, that still means that we need to find them a preschool situation …
There is value in “teaching novels.”
I have to address something my principal said at a recent staff meeting. He was going on about how when his son only read novels in English and learned about interpreting them, then he wasn’t prepared for college. I have to disagree with this. First of all, this is how I learned English and most …
Collaboration Part 2
As I was sitting and planning with two of my co-teachers this past week, it struck me how easy and lived in this relationship was. We have been teaching together now for multiple semesters and have a good idea of what each other brings to the table in our respective roles. I think this is …
The World Turned Upside Down
In school this morning we had a moment of silence in honor of the day. And I realized that none of my 11th grade students were alive ye ton 9/11. And it sort of blew my mind. 18 years is a long time. I feel like the person I was on 9/11 was someone else, …
The First Day
The first day back at school always feels like a shock to the system. Even of you worked during the summer, the flurry of activity that precedes school opening is a lot. Early alarms, schedules, classroom changes, finding co-teachers, endless meetings…It can weigh a person down before we even meet the kids. Personally, I think …
High School Equivalency for Students with IEPs
Please bear with me as I step on my soapbox for a minute. This article, “To get a high school equivalency diploma, NYC forces students to give up special education services” (https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2019/08/21/225295/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cb_bureau_ny) was featured on the Chalkbeat newsletter. Essentially, students who have IEPs and are seeking an alternative path to attaining their high school diplomas …
Continue reading “High School Equivalency for Students with IEPs”
The Other Side of the Table (Part 1)
At this point in time, I’ve been a Special Education teacher longer than I’ve been a parent. So when my husband and I decided to have our daughters, who were premature, evaluated for early intervention, I was pretty sure I understood what would happen. What I didn’t realize was how weird it would be to …
Meditations on Literature and Literacy...Continued 