After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
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Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Author: amybisson
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Our District has a committee is working on unpacking the Common Core for Pre-K to 8 this summer. I volunteered – begged really – to do this and, lucky for me, I am part of the committee. Even with all of the expertise on this committee, there are struggles as we dig through seemingly simple…
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The writing is on the wall… the DESE is in the process of recommending that the teacher evaluation system overhaul include data about teacher effectiveness using the state’s MCAS test. I really am annoyed that no one is listening to teachers who are saying “Wait a minute…”. Not because we don’t want to be evaluated;…
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Twenty-four hours after the end of the 2010-11 school year finds me still trying to analyze why this year was so difficult. Why was it that so many students in the past group were such a challenge? Did my teaching change? Is my tolerance level low? Have I lost “it”? The more I think about…
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which translates to “no worries”…. how often is that a part of an adult’s thought process? This week marks the last week of the academic year for us. It’s part of the fabric of the school year cycle – that time when I reflect on what worked and what didn’t. When I start to see…
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This has been one of the most challenging groups of children I have taught. Considering that this is my 23rd year as an elementary teacher, that’s quite a challenge. Teaching in an urban district with children whose daily life is clearly outside of my own childhood experience, oftentimes means much more than academics are encompassed…
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We will have a lot of changes this coming Fall. Some are more global: a new administrator, a new superintendent, new Core Curriculum. On a more local level, my grade level has made a decision to locate the Inclusion classrooms side-by-side, so next year I will be a SPED Inclusion room again. And there some…
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Boy do I ever need to redesign my classroom space. What I have is workable, but there’s much more to be done. What would my dream space look like? Here are some things I’m mulling over for next school year: 1. Removing the big old TV on the gigantic (and wobbly) stand. Yes, I do…
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For many, or maybe for most people, Memorial Day means picnics and the start of the summer season. Yesterday, with the first summer-like weekend since, well since last summer, we went in to Boston to walk around and soak up some sun. As we usually do when we don’t have a specific agenda, we drove…
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This June, with just 3 years — or maybe 4 if the stock market takes a nose dive — left of my teaching career, I’ve started the process of streamlining. It seems like a good idea. I certainly don’t have an delusions that all that stuff I’ve been saving “just in case” is going to…
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This must be the word of the week as it has come up so frequently. I think of my earnest third graders enduring the grueling high stakes mathematics testing that we concluded this week. Their reactions ran the gamut from just filling in any random test bubble to get the thing over with to painstakingly writing and…
After An Educator's Journey 