Teacher Talk
Teachers vs. Tech: Putting an Old Adversary to Good Use
By: Dr. Jerri Ward-Jackson | Aug 9, 2023
Since the first clunky cell phone rang in a silent classroom, technology’s place in education has been hotly debated. Does its potential for good outweigh its potential for disruption? Do kids need more screen time than they already get at home? Is educational technology actually beneficial or is it just a dazzling, counterproductive novelty?
To Dr. Jerri Ward-Jackson of the University of West Alabama’s College of ...
10 Reasons Why Experienced and First Year Teachers Have the Same Struggles
By: Amy Konen | Nov 27, 2017
As I reflect on my career as an educator, I am reminded that I am a type of teacher who likes to move around and teach different grade levels. What I realized about myself was that I truly love kids. I love all the different age groups for different reasons. ...
6 Questions to Tackle in Being Exemplary When Communicating with Students
By: Jon Konen | Nov 27, 2017
Actions speak louder than words! To connect with our students we must think about the words and the actions we take in and out of the classroom. One of the first education books I read was Harry Wong’s 1997 book titled, The First Days of School: How to Be an ...
7 Questions to Ask in Managing Student Behavior
By: Jon Konen | Nov 27, 2017
One of the qualities that will get you hired faster than anything else is the ability to manage a classroom full of students. Administrators shy away from hiring new teachers that have a difficult time managing students. The amount of time an administrator must put into teaching and training a ...
How Can Parents Explain Episodes of Gun Violence to Very Young Children Without Filling Them with Fear?
By: Jon Konen | Nov 14, 2017
I am a principal of a K-6 school in Great Falls, MT (65,000). We are a rural state with many conservative (Republican) viewpoints on gun legislation. In the city I preside, predominately Democrat, there are different viewpoints than the rest of the state. This has been a question we have ...
6 Questions to Tackle in Managing Classroom Procedures
By: Jon Konen | Nov 14, 2017
How can Finland students, touted as one of the highest-ranking OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries in education, score as high as they do on the PISA (Programming for International Student Assessment) data when they are in school 400 hours less than students in America? This is answered ...
5 Questions That Help Build Our Reflective Capacity
By: Amy Konen | Oct 23, 2017
Two nights before kicking off the 2017-18 school year, I am overwhelmed at the daily schedules, curriculums, management plans, procedures, passion projects, spelling programs, grading, testing, homework, positive incentives, etc. While these are the “things” of teaching that take up so much time to prep and organize, it is the ...
Individual Education Plan Goals: The Heart of It All
By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 20, 2017
A few weekends ago, my beloved and I decided to take a road trip west of our humble little east Arkansas town. We were both worn out from a long span of various and sundry things—broken fences needing mended, dogs needing trips to the vet, setting up a classroom, meeting ...
Parent Participation at the IEP Team Meeting
By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 18, 2017
I am sitting at my desk at school, cluttered with papers, folders stacked on the table situated beside it to create an L shape so I have more room to store stuff. There are binders full of tracking sheets, tracking sheets which note the words per minute my kids attempt ...
8 Questions to Tackle in Designing Student Assessments
By: Jon Konen | Oct 10, 2017
One of the most controversial educational topics in the past two decades… a four-letter word… is “TEST!” If you ask an educator, they may have more four-letter words to accompany it! Many of us do not shirk our responsibilities to assess our students….we know it needs to be done. What ...
Parental Tips and Advice to Get an IEP Approved for Your Child
By: Kylie Hall | Oct 4, 2017
Teacher.org asked a highly involved parent about the troubles with getting access to an IEP, specifically, "What kept you up at night?" We changed names to remain anonymous but this should take nothing away from the validity or circumstance of the concerned parent answering - these are her exact words. ...