Teaching Writing on the Side of a Coffee Cup
Editor’s Note: Ray Salazar, NBCT, teaches high school English in Chicago Public Schools and is an award-winning blogger. The views expressed in this blog are his own. Writing matters to students when they see how words survive in the real world. Yes, our classrooms are the real world. But if the writing in class does…
Leading From Inside the Classroom
Editor’s Note: Jane Fung, NBCT, is a first-grade teacher in Los Angeles. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Several years ago I met a university supervisor working with my school’s cohort of student teachers. I don’t remember her visiting my classroom, observing my student teachers, or ever discussing classroom instruction. What I…
Yearbook: A teacher’s reflection on a school year, well captured
Editor’s Note: Ambereen Khan-Baker, NBCT, teaches AP Language and Composition in Rockville, Md. As an Ambassador for the Montgomery Institute, a partnership between NEA and Montgomery County Education Association, she works with teacher leaders across the country on collaborative problem solving to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The views expressed in this blog…
Developing Specialized Knowledge by Pushing Myself as a Reader
Last year, while mentoring a second-year middle school English teacher, I complimented her knowledge of books for young adults. I was impressed by the expertise she demonstrated when making personal book recommendations to each of her seventh graders, helping them develop into successful independent readers. I asked her how she knew about all the different…
Shifting the Culture
Visionary. Advocate. Transformative Leader. These words were on the screen Tuesday morning at the National Board Academy in Scottsdale, AZ, as Dr. Mike Lee asked us to consider the small steps, the decisions of individual teachers at their schools, that are necessary to transform our professional culture broadly. These particular words were widely used by people…
Aligning Learning and Standards
Editor’s Note: Luann Lee is an NBCT teaching chemistry and AP/dual credit chemistry at Newberg High School in Oregon. She is a founding member and current president of Oregon Accomplished Teachers, Oregon’s National Board network. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Standards are changing, again. Presently, both my state and my district…
My Struggle with Classroom Data
Editor’s Note: Mark Gardner, NBCT, is a high school English teacher in southwest Washington state working in a hybrid role that also allows him to work on professional development experiences for teachers. The views expressed in this blog are his own. I am not afraid of numbers. Yes, I teach high school English, but was raised…
Talking Back to Silence: My Pledge to Speak on Community Violence
Editor’s Note: Jennifer Dines, NBCT, is the Special Education and Student Services Coordinator at the Gardner Pilot Academy K-8 School, a Pilot School in the Boston Public Schools. The views expressed in this blog are her own. I live in Roslindale – a sleepy residential neighborhood in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. There are three…
What are your #NBCTtunes?
Editor’s Note: Joanna Schimizzi, NBCT, is a biology teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District in North Carolina. The views expressed in this blog are her own. Is your classroom a headphones-free zone? Headphones-free zone!! When students walk into my classroom, they know they should never ask if they can listen to headphones while they are working.…
For Whom the (School) Bell Tolls: What Calls You to Teaching?
Editor’s Note: Corey Oliver is a National Board Certified Teacher in English Language Arts. He teaches 7th grade English in the Conway Public School District in Conway, Arkansas. The views expressed in this blog are his own. "Mr. Oliver, if you find a job you love, you’ll never work another day in your life.” Although…
