Committing to our students’ stories is an investment in their success I’m a sucker for a good Taylor Swift song. As a 32-year-old middle grades educator I feel confident enough to put that in writing, especially in this venue. The weeks before I began teaching outside of Houston, Texas, were filled with anxiety about what
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Exploring instructional strategies that engage introverted students Everyone has heard the idiom, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” In our busy, sometimes hectic classrooms, our squeaky wheels—our most extroverted and outgoing learners—are most likely to attract the most attention. Our society, like our classrooms, often highlights the extroverted, outgoing, highly social students. But what about
Read More… from Engaging the Quiet Highly Capable Learners in Your Classroom
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Offering diverse texts as well as justice-focused critiques of traditional literature On the first day of school in Chicago, I encountered a room full of Iraqi, Nepalese, and West African refugee students. Timid, cautious, and nervous, they sat in Room 34 with visible trepidation. Someone with an equal level of trepidation? Me. I was a
Read More… from Be Radical: Reimagining the 8th Grade Literary Canon
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A teacher’s guide to planning a high-interest, engaging writing project Three years ago an eighth grade class of mine had a blog project called “Dear Terrorist” where students researched their topics and wrote letters to anyone considering (or participating in) a decision that could harm themselves or others. One girl wrote an open letter to
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Successful advisory programs can have significant positive impacts on student engagement Does this sound familiar? Advisory programs? What a waste of time! Students just goof around. Advisory programs? Great idea, but who’s going to put it together? I’m way too busy already. Advisory programs? What we need is more time for academics, not less. Advisory
Read More… from The Challenge of Advisory and Why it’s Worth the Effort
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In 2015 I attended a leadership training with Tony Robbins. It was a rare experience that changed both my lens on leadership and my personal life. The four days of 10-14 hours per day were high energy and filled with personalized content. It was the most exhilarating and empowering leadership training I have ever experienced!
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Read More... from AMLE Celebrates Inaugural Schools of Distinction
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Read More... from Reimagining School – What should it look like and who is it for?
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