I created this blog because I want to find out from teachers, administrators, and parents their thoughts on implementing a more diversified curriculum for students. The current curriculum, I feel based on my own experiences with the educational system, is extremely limited.  We need to be pro-active with students if we want them to become ...

I have heard the word toppers used to describe people who always have a better story.  There could also be interrupter toppers (ITs) who can't wait for a story to end before beginning theirs.  Then, there are those who never really listen. They sort of get the gist of what someone is ...

Texas has had its share of headaches when it comes to testing.  Does anyone else remember the TECAT?  That was a test that every Texas teacher had to take to keep on trucking.  It was an absurd, expensive ordeal where teachers were treated like cattle because lawmakers weren't sure that they were educated enough ...

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 ...

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 ...

The superintendent for Anne Arundel is making an entire staff of a high school reapply for their jobs.  This includes teachers, administrators, custodians, and secretaries.  Get out the broom, and get ready for a clean sweep.  Annapolis High School has failed to meet No Child Left Behind guidelines for four ...

Everyone wants to blame teachers for low test scores.  After all, teachers are the easiest targets.  I have to wonder how much money is being spent on all of the research studies about improving teacher quality.  What about the time and effort spent on discussions about the No Child Left Behind Law?  Are ...

The ongoing dilemma about where to house and how to motivate middle school students is back in the news on newyorktimes.com.  As any parent with a child this age will tell you, middle school students are an unusual lot.  They come in a variety of sizes with all sorts of interesting personalities.  If you teach them ...

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 ...