Our Blog: The Standard

It’s 12:26 A.M here in Las Vegas. It’s only been a few hours since Governor Steve Sisolak ordered a statewide closure of all casinos, restaurants, bars, and nonessential businesses for the next 30 days. This latest response to COVID-19 comes only two days after Governor Sisolak announced the closure of all public, charter, and private schools, and five days after he held a press conference to declare a state of emergency for Nevada. Circumstances have changed quickly. It seems not that long ago that news of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China was being reported. Tonight, as I watch the…

“I hate math.” How many times have you heard this statement from adults and students alike? As someone whose job is centered on math and math education, it hurts every time I hear it; and like most math teachers, I’ve heard it a lot. I’ve recently switched roles from a high school math teacher to a 6th-12th grade math instructional coach. My new role has taken me in a million different directions, but one of my main focuses is developing a positive outlook towards math in our middle-high school. Each year I’ve tried to develop a project that highlights math…

This blog was originally posted at Common Core Connection USA. From the minute the kids arrive, to the time you get home at night, we’ve got some Tiny Teaching Tips That Can Make a BIG Difference! Help your kids feel seen, from the moment they enter the classroom in the morning! 1. Use Photos and Binder Clips to Make Movable Pieces! These can be used as kids sign in (attendance), or even to select their lunch choices. They are also handy to show whether someone is in the restroom or for playing pieces for board games. Another thought. . . Personalize magnets, like Kadeen does,…

Think about it.  How has the approach to discipline in K-12 public schools changed?  Not much.  If you had knowledge of another person’s experiences —  what they see, what they hear, and/or what they feel, would it change the way you would respond to this individual?  If I had to guess, it would.  Behaviors are learned things, good or bad.  Children aren’t born destined to be good or bad.  They see.  They imitate.  They do what they have LEARNED!  Since all learning is social by nature, strong relationships fostered by restorative practices play a powerful gatekeeping role. As a process,…

This blog originally appeared online in Stories From School, Arizona Are you working on National Board Certification or coaching NB candidates? I have this little mantra that’s become a good friend over the years. I want to share it with you and tell you what it means to me: Logical steps forward through darkness This mantra got me through National Board Certification. This mantra helped me continue when the directions seemed vague and I did not have the answers yet. This mantra gave me the space to become a reflective practitioner and overcome the fear that I was making missteps.…

On August 13, 2016 I began my National Board journey. Little did I know at this time I would also embark on another journey. Because my school district and teacher’s union supports National Board, I was able to encourage 10 teachers at my school to join me in this work. The local union arranged for educators to provide us with support, meeting regularly, reading our portfolios and doing what they could to help make us successful. It’s also worth noting that our union also provided financial supports. There is much to learn – the standards and more – and the…

At the beginning of the year, my Chicago Public Schools high-school students expressed lots of frustration because I didn’t write any comments on their first major essay. “You need to give us feedback,” they demanded. Some doubted I read their essays because I didn’t make a mark. I explained that one of my goals as a teacher has become to build my students’ independence, thus fighting against the image of students stretching out their hands like fans at a rock concert, fluttering their paper for the teacher’s attention. I also fight against the ugly co-dependence that arises when teachers feel…

Teachers can adopt better grading strategies to reward students for the knowledge they’ve gained, instead of penalizing them for what they haven’t yet mastered My son’s first grade teacher told me that he was lucky to have a younger sister. Six-year-olds are not known for their empathy, and part of Mrs. Seabolt’s job was to build that trait in her students. She’d often see children impatient with classmates who couldn’t tie their shoes or recite their addition tables. Students with younger siblings had an easier time understanding why that behavior wasn’t kind. They recognized, after all, that it was inappropriate…

Last week I wrote about my personal journey to a better understanding of my own white privilege and implicit biases. This week, I would like to suggest three concrete steps white teachers like me can take to acknowledge and address issues of systemic racism in our schools. We can actively decide to set aside our defensive attitudes. Like many white people, I tend to bristle when accused of having implicit biases or, worse, “being racist,” and that response is understandable. As teachers and learners, however, we can acknowledge that we have a lot to learn from the experiences of others.…

I can vividly remember the first time I encountered racism. A white student, a senior in high school, had just finished reading Richard Wright’s Native Son. It was, to my knowledge, the first book by an African-American writer that he had ever read. Another white student asked him whether it was difficult to read. “Well, no,” he said. “I mean, the author is black.” “That’s racist!” she replied. And of course, she was right. It was a good thing she said something, because until that moment, the student had never really given any thought to his implicit biases or entertained…