Student Voices: The Intersection of Mindfulness and Mental Health in the Classroom
By: Linda Yaron Weston, NBCT The challenges of this time have magnified the need for including mental health tools within the student experience. As an educator who has taught both academic and well-being courses at the high school and college level, I have come to realize that including well-being supports alongside the academic curriculum is…
Tales from the Pandemic: Silver Linings and Lessons Learned
By: Michael Ida, NBCT Unless you’re a journalist, it’s dangerous to write history while it is being made. However, as teachers, we don’t always have the luxury of waiting for the dust to clear before taking stock. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. Having no choice but to try new things during…
“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor” Jackson Brown, Jr.
Dedicated to Stacy Nishina, HSTA Deputy Executive Director By: Tracey Idica, NBCT In the summer of 2013, I received a phone call from an NBCT on a neighbor island who had created a small network of NBCTs. She had received an invitation to attend the National Board Leaders Convening in Raleigh, North Carolina and was…
COVID, Community, and Connections
By: Erin Medeiros, NBCT Twenty rectangles appear. First Kylee, in double French braids and her lashes. Then Tapa, outside working on a lei for his project. Eden is by her bed, and Gardenia sits with her back against the white wall. Lili chats that she just got up and that Lei is with her. Lele…
Sharing your pronouns: Becoming a Gender Affirming Educator
By: Chris Murray, NBCT On Thursday, January 7 more than 50 educators from Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) continued their journey to a deeper understanding of how gender impacts our students. This PD provided educators an opportunity to learn from experts in the field about ways to make our schools and school systems do everything…
A Call to Re-Invest
By: Dr. Dolores Cormier-Zenon, NBCT Throughout 2020, the world experienced much tribulation. Last January we opened the year hopeful but unaware of what enormous turmoil was yet to come. A pandemic rising to a magnitude, so clearly unfathomable, that we’d lose hundreds of thousands of lives. In addition, we quickly ascertained how aggressively the pandemic…
Following to a T – and add a rap!
By: Nicholas Westfall, NBCT I was in sixth grade during the “No Child Left Behind” era. I was told to choose a career path and somehow determine whether I should take advanced placement, college-prep, or college-tech prep courses in high school. I was eleven years old. I had no career in mind so, with tears…
Informing Instruction with Holistic Assessment
By: Heavenly Montgomery, NBCT Great teachers dedicate time to learn about their students. Getting a holistic picture of each child allows proficient educators to design instruction to meet specific needs. The COVID 19 pandemic has put new obstacles between teachers and students that seem insurmountable at times. I am impressed with the way some educators…
Questioning Our Most Dearly Held Beliefs
By: Jonathon Medeiros Aunty Puanani Burgess, a Hawaiian activist, poet, and community leader, writes about how to build community, how to help people know themselves, and each other. She focuses on finding and sharing our moʻolelo, our stories. In examining our lives to find words for our stories, she underscores the power of asking questions,…
In the Very Beginning
As early as I can remember, I was a teacher. When I was young, I even asked for a chalkboard for Christmas so I could teach my imaginary students. However, my family struggled with money and nonessentials were not on our list-not even for Christmas. However, my passion for teaching would continue. I continued to…
