Yesterday was National Women’s Day so I was thinking about the influential women in the world and especially the ones who write YA books. There was one who came to mind as she was a trailblazer in this genre and is having a resurgence of popularity just now. Judy Blume was one of the first …
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The Intangibles of Teaching
I went for a massage this morning (self-care is important, people) and as I was checking out, this m an was telling the receptionist about how his teachers influenced his life. About how he was a “bad kid” but they still supported him and how he didn’t really realize it until later how much his …
Literature for a change…
Part of the reason I started writing here was to discuss literature and books, especially for young adults and middle grade readers. However, I’ve gotten away from that, having been inundated with the politics of teaching. I have read a couple of really good YA books recently and while they don’t seem similar on the …
Perspectives on Regents Scoring
Yesterday I, along with many other teachers in New York State, administered the Common Core English Regents. I proctored students who had extended time and require scribes and the test to be read aloud to them. Many have taken the Regents before but were scheduled for it again anyway to see if they would reach …
“Free tutoring” isn’t free
One of my former colleagues (Hi, Mista C) shared this article: Stop Making Teachers Feel Guilty for Asking to Be Paid for Their Work (https://www.weareteachers.com/wont-work-for-free/?utm_content=1576178876&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1Tk9Kq4yxCciKZ0PUEyxqGDB7Fjublgm0qWANO-TtQnVd7U1LLvzO6nuQ) and I’m kind of worked up about it. I am in my 12th year of teaching. Over this time I: ran clubs stayed late to meet with parents graded papers …
A Perspective on the MOSL
Measures of Student Learning or MOSL as it is called most often, is the part of our teaching evaluations that are based on student test scores. Some school use their own testing for this, but many others use the NYS Regents exam for this. My school does the latter. While on the one hand, it …
Conferences…
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 …
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 …
Meditations on Literature and Literacy...Continued 