After An Educator's Journey

Out of the classroom & into the universe

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about

Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
I taught second, third and fourth graders. Teaching was my passion and joy for 30 years. And it didn’t hurt that they called me “mom” sometimes.

Tag: teaching

  • What the Tour Bus Would Miss….

    Junia Yearwood is quickly becoming one of my favorite Boston Globe reads. The article, “If Only Visitors Could See My Students“, provides insight into an urban classroom — and warns of the dangers of believing what one reads or learns via the fifth estate.  So, here is what visitors might miss in my classroom. The…

  • Where the responsibility lies

    Junia Yearwood wrote in an OpEd piece in the Boston Globe this week that it takes a culture that values learning to educate a child. I couldn’t agree with this more. What is valued in our culture? I don’t believe it is intelligence and learning if pop culture is any indication. What struck me as…

  • A Thanksgiving Tale

    It’s really easy for me to get wrapped around the axel over lack of parental support in a school where poverty is pervasive. I’ve had 3 teacher assistant team meetings for one child so far this year. The parent never attends and never responds to the meeting invitations. This parent continually writes nasty notes about…

  • It’s the vocabulary, stupid

    Well, not just the vocabulary, but for my urban kids, that surely is a major factor.  This week, our writing focus – visualizing a text – was driven by a poem written by Carmen Lagos Signes: Pumpkins in the cornfields, Gold among the brown, Leaves of rust and scarlet, Trembling slowly down; Birds that travel…

  • Standing on the shoulders of…

    Emily Rooney’s Greater Boston panel discussed the connection between a teacher‘s despondency and suicide and a recent LA Times article which ranked teachers by name. One can argue the stupidity of people who don’t understand educational issues and all of the things that impact students. One can argue about the current need to equate education…

  • Transitioning

    For whatever reason, this group of students is having a heck of a time dialing things back after any unstructured time. I noticed it almost immediately which, given all the other chaos accompanying the first days of school was quite an accomplishment. Some of the problems that are interfering with getting back to work: excessive…

  • Not everything is academic

    School started a week ago.  I can already see the work ahead of us – and that is NOT a reference to academics. This group of students has lots of trouble transitioning, especially outside of the classroom. And there are a lot of them this year – my class size is at what used to…

  • Really?

    With the Common Core Standards, we — that means teachers — are bracing for new and improved standardized testing.  An article in the Boston Globe this morning (link here) floats the idea. MCAS may or may not be replaced by a new Common Core test, presumably aligned to the new standards. If you read the…

  • Where to begin…..

    The first weeks of school, as every teacher will tell you, are spent setting up and refining routines.  I find our school’s decision to use the principles of the Responsive Classroom provides lots of guidance and reminders on building a classroom community. This morning, I watched a refresher on one of the most basic of…

  • Mindblowing Task of Setting Up a Classroom

    I’ve been at this for 23 Fall startups now and I’ve yet to find the “perfect” room configuration.  Over time, I’ve managed to get the task of setting up – at least for Day 1 – down to a two-day affair, but it is not without angst. My students do not sit in rows –…