Question of the Day: “What was a defining teaching moment for me?”

Every school has tough students.  Students who struggle and don’t seem to belong anywhere.  The unlikeable students who teachers talk about behind closed office doors.  Teachers bemoan the fact these students are even in their class, and often these students are passed around as they try to find a place where they belong.  The first…

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Question of the Day: “What did I learn about my own racism from the African American Museum in DC?”

Ibram Kendi writes extensively about the effects of societal racism on our communities. He likens racist ideas to rain. He says these thoughts, images, and beliefs fall down on us and make us all possible victims and victimizers. As a white, hetero, cis-gender female, there is a lot for me to learn about the various…

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Question of the Day: “How does being an Empath make me a better teacher?”

The answer here is simple. It makes me a better teacher in every way. Being able to feel other people’s emotions makes me better at navigating through a lesson. I can feel when I lose my class during a discussion. Or, even better, I can feel when I have their undivided attention. Their attention is…

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Question of the Day: “What are five ways to tell that you are an Empath?”

It took a long time for me to realize I was an Empath and not a crazy person. There are still days when I wonder… But in all seriousness, I did a lot of reading, soul-searching, classes, and meditation to come to terms with the reality of my gift. In the end, it really just…

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Teaching # 101: Book Banning *Update*

Students who want to start the book club came by to visit me yesterday. They are really excited. They recommended we go to the public library to meet. They suggested this may make it a little less scandalous (my words, not theirs). I agreed, but I don’t think they realize that my location won’t really…

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Teaching # 101: The Meeting

If you read the previous post, you know about my dilemma. My school is coming after books, and I am running a Student Book Club in perhaps my most misguided attempt at protecting them. After my conversation with my principal, I felt I needed to inform the other teachers of what they will be getting…

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Teaching #101: Another way to CYA when you’re a teacher

I am moving forward with our book club, but I have contacted other teachers hoping they will join me. Three others have agreed, but after my conversation with my principal, I thought I would at least be honest about the possible ramifications. We have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow. I sent a cryptic email just…

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Teacher #101: “What do I do about all of these books?”

There is a controversy in our country and specifically in my district about books. Parents and the school board are coming at books hard and from all angles. They are forcing school libraries to take out books they find to be inappropriate. Many of these titles feature queer or gay characters and some have strong…

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Question of the Day: “What is the hardest part of teaching for me?”

I’ve talked about this before, so please be patient with me if you are tired of my ramblings about teaching, but I think I’ve figured out why it has been so difficult. It’s an epiphany really. It all started when I read this article for my grad class. Currently, I’m working on my doctorate in…

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Teaching #101: Teaching is hard…

Yeah, I know. A lot of things are hard. Look, I am a product of the 90s. This was the Grunge Era; the time to learn that Global Warming was killing the planet, and AIDS was affecting everyone. My school set three entire school days aside to teach us about AIDS. That’s how intense it…

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