I’ve noticed something lately. I have gotten a handful of comments and emails from people who seem to be teaching in what appears outwardly as a hopeless situation. I contend that the problem very rarely is in their situation. The problem rests in the lost joy and the long forgotten hope they once had. The dream [...]

This video was recently sent my way. I thought you might similarly be amazed by this young man. Do You Believe? © SoYouWantToTeach.com - visit So You Want To Teach? for more great content.

This morning I was getting a little bogged down by classroom management.  I was frustrated with one of my classes for talking too much or being silly, not listening, and/or not completing their work.  I am becoming a little overwhelmed by them because it is my largest class - 17, mostly ELL and some hearing-office placed kids.  Some ...

Thanks to Joel for allowing me this opportunity to post an article on his excellent site! In my short time as a blogger I have written a few posts which have elicited quite a few e-mails, These include posts about the fish bowl lesson, how teachers may create student failures, and ideas about teaching denotation and [...]

I walked into a language arts teacher's classroom and he vented about the lesson, ''Kids just aren't at all engaged.  It's just not motivating them.'' ''What are you teaching?'' I ask. ''Well, it's folklore and lengend.  We have to do the story of Paul Bunyan.'' ''What's not to love about that?'' I ask.  He eyes me ...

Lisa writes: I googled “bitter about teaching” and came up with your blog.  I was recently let go from a school I busted my a$$ in for a whole year (my first year) - constant criticism, cattiness, and pointing out and embellishing the negative things I had done while minimizing the positive (all the while they [...]

I'm reading a book right now that describes the difference between market norms and social norms.  Market norms are based upon supply and demand, wages and profit motives.  Social norms are based upon social relationships and the expectations contained within the community.  It is not surprising to me that social norms often work ...

**This is a guest post contributed by Heather Johnson, who is an industry critic on the subject of university reviews. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com. For those of you who are not on summer school duty this year, you are probably bursting at the seams in anticipation of your three-month break. Yes, you need to get ...

As we begin the month of March, I want to take a look back a year ago and see where my thoughts and focus were oriented. For me, this is productive as it helps me to see the progress, or more accurately the changes, that have happened over the last year. For me, this is productive as it helps me to see the progress, or more accurately the ...

In the Christmas break, I am looking back at this blog’s growth and development. I began writing a little bit for the blog in February, but didn’t officially launch it for real until June. Since that time, growth has been pretty consistent. I now seem to regularly get a small number of comments for every article I write, with some ...