Joel’s invitation to be a guest-writer here was a prime opportunity to advertise the joys of teaching in rural America. I run a small blog on Townhall. Rural America is an ignored sector of education, except in the occasional news article about poverty. I can’t really contrast rural America with anywhere else. I’ve always [...]

When I heard that Wonder Woman was moving on to a better school, I emailed the principal (let’s call him the Prince, shall we?) telling him my concerns and asking for some reassurance.  That was a month ago, and no, of course he hasn’t responded.  The Prince probably doesn’t have email underground where he’s buried his ...

This video is worth your time since the speaker is a key person at the J. Paul Getty Foundation which studies education. Education is supposed to ready our future leaders .... is that getting done? What are the accomplishments of schools and how does school nurture creativity? I think this is an excellent talk and well worth your 18 minutes to ...

This blog is dedicated to all the ass-kicking teachers out there (especially those in public elementary schools- holla)!! I have taught in the public system myself for many years and am currently pursuing my second advanced degree in education. Teaching is my passion and I love nothing more than being with my students. However...teaching isn't ...

In the grand effort to reform schools, a new and trendy idea has been to hire adults to work with the teachers rather than the children, a.k.a. a staff developer. In theory, it sounds like a great premise in which teachers are able to stay current on their practice and learn exciting methods of pedagogy. Ah, but there is the rub my friends…don’t ...

Being neutral on important issues is a hard line to walk in the classroom.  Students question teachers constantly on how they plan to vote or how they feel about current topics in the news.  Legislators in Arizona want to force teachers to keep their opinions to themselves. In any class, any issue could be discussed as long as the ...

My advice to new teachers is always, ''Never let them see you mad.''  New technology is taking this to a new level.  Students are capturing angry teachers at their worst moments and putting them on YouTube.  I remember one incident in a computer lab when I really got mad.  Students weren't listening to instructions, and the ...

Mentoring programs are not new.  Veteran teachers are often paired with new teachers in order to help launch successful teaching careers.  This was not the case when I first started teaching.  I started my first year in a third grade classroom in a tough neighborhood school.  Most of my students had ...

Assembly woman Sally Leiber wants to protect toddlers and babies and plans to introduce a bill to prevent spankings.  On latimes.com the Bay Area Democrat explains her reasoning in an article titled ''A spanking ban:  are we gonna get it?''  She has received a barrage of emails, some of them telling her to mind her ...

I knew it would happen.  Yet another committee has decided that teachers are the ones to blame when students don't do well.  After all, they can't do anything about the parents or living situations that some of these children might have, so according to dallasnews.com a new report stresses the improvement of ...