Reflecting & Storytelling About Teaching
Every year, teaching the Declaration of Independence daunts me. The possibilities for modern and historical connections are vast, and I wonder if I could be doing more to cement the favorable concepts from this founding document into students’ minds… Continue reading
I’m an annotation geek, and my students know it. Whether in English or history, I’m that teacher: the one who asks students to interact constantly with the text as they read. This could be in the margins if they’re looking at a handout… Continue reading
It’s hard to imagine a time when publishers believed “teenagers didn’t like to read,” as Laurie Halse Anderson’s Shout remembers. Into this seemingly barren literary landscape in 1999 flared Anderson’s novel Speak, a now-classic work about a girl’s depression… Continue reading
Immediate interest. Personal relevance. Uncontroversial subject matter. These aren’t always the first phrases teachers and students might think of when discussing current events in class. But if we head local… Continue reading
It has taken me a year to write this post, and I still feel inadequate. I’m writing about this experience because I want to take something from it – to understand better how I can prepare to teach, and then lean into, difficult topics… Continue reading
“Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch… Again!” As I banged out the opening octaves from the first song of A Chorus Line, the baby grand’s sound filling our black box theater, I realized I should have practiced more. And I definitely should have prepared more for… Continue reading
Here’s a bit of a confessional. For many years, with major writing assignments, I avoided reading my students’ rough drafts. I thought I didn’t have time – and that if I commented on the rough drafts Continue reading
The most effective civic education in my eighth-grade classroom is often the simplest. On Fridays, each student brings in an annotated newspaper article on any topic except sports or entertainment, and then three or four students present and field questions on their pieces. During the rest of the week… Continue reading
On a recent summer evening the house was quiet, except for our neighbor’s construction workers sweeping gravel off the driveway. I had just dropped off my younger son at tennis lessons and my older son at cross-country practice… Continue reading
For librarians Christina Dorr and Liz Deskins, getting the right book into the hands of the right kid at the right time is paramount – even more so when the topic is something not everyone wants to talk about… Continue reading
Sarah Cooper 