Teaching

How I Got Multiple Tickets during My First Month Teaching 8th Grade

It should be part of an official middle school teacher evaluation form: “Effectively breaks rules and bends conventions for the instructional goodness of his/her students.” Indeed, one of the most underreported characteristics of an effective middle grades teacher is that he/she knows how and when to deviate from the traditional path—the one most typically taken—to

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Rethinking Field Trips

Field trips used to be a common and highly anticipated part of the middle grades experience: young adolescents, bleary eyed, climbing on the bus with iPods and handheld games. It wasn’t so much where they were going—it was all about not going to class. Security concerns since September 11, 2001, combined with budget cuts and

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