Understandably, educators are always planning for the worst case scenarios, but sometimes, it is both necessary and important to let go of materials, lesson plans, supplies that no longer suit the job we are doing. It can also be a great opportunity to share those resources with other teachers who may use what is no longer useful to us for the benefit of all kids.
Instead of a plan book, I have a calendar and a to-do list that will help inform the first month of school. This upcoming week we have preplanning meetings and administrative check-ins. I'll eagerly listen and participate so that I can make sure our team gets what it needs.
Guest blogger Samuel Williams of Curtis High School in Staten Island shares how students can do extraordinary things when they are empowered to run school events. Read on to see what success can look like in this school and maybe in yours.
By Jackie Andrejko and Starr Sackstein Peeking into the room, I see students attentively gathered on the rug, sitting before their teacher who is animated while she explains the activity they are about to start. Students eagerly wait for the cue to get up and move to their stations. They have small,...
One of the best parts of working in a school is that is never boring. From day to day, you just don't know the kind of crazy things that can happen, but you always know you have to be ready for the unexpected!
Guest blogger Amit Mehrotra discussed what it means to empower the modern learner and why we need to stop calling what we do teaching for 21st-century skills.
There are plenty of times throughout the school year when the stress can become unbearable. If we create rituals that help with routines and stress, the better able we will be to cope with the challenges as they arise.
Visions and missions are living parts of a functioning school community and we must treat them with care and clarity. As new leaders and community stakeholders get involved, it's appropriate and necessary to make adjustments. Make sure your vision is more than an idea created in isolation decades ago, make sure it is the lens through which important decisions are made for the betterment of your kids.
Life is unpredictable and so are the events in a classroom. We can certainly have a toolkit of skills and strategies ready to be used, but believing this will save us from potential failure at times is foolish. We must accept that taking risks will promote big possibilities but might not work out as planned.
There will be times when scrapping what happened altogether may be the best plan and just starting over or moving on and then circling back at another time, but more often then not, it's worth it to just pause and reflect. These moments can yield a great deal of learning for everyone, including us.
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