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 ...
Ever Wonder What Your Teacher Benefits Are Really Worth?
By: Jon Konen | Jun 30, 2021
Your Complete Guide to Understanding What Your Healthcare Coverage, Pension and Other Teacher Benefits are Worth in Real Dollars.
Even if you’re not a teacher or planning to be one, it’s not likely you missed the big national debate about teacher compensation over the years.
Public opinion on education spending is complicated. ...
Top 10 Pieces of Advice I Wish I Got As a Graduating Senior
By: Jon Konen | Jun 7, 2021
Giving a graduation speech or any speech can be stressful. In fact, it’s the number one fear out there! A recent National Institute for Mental Health survey showed a full 75% of people said it’s the thing they dread the most. Public speaking ranked even higher than death in some ...
Prom Night for Our Special Needs Students – How We Brought a Little Magic to a Difficult School Year
By: Mary McLaughlin | Apr 20, 2021
When we were at the early heights of the pandemic, I was granted a transfer from my long-held elementary special education gig to one at my district’s high school. I would go from working with students who were, for the most part, in need of significant academic support to working ...
If You’re a Teacher Thinking About Moving, There are 8 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself (and Your Heart) Before Making the Decision
By: Jon Konen | Mar 23, 2021
Here I sit in the hospital thinking about how many times I have been here. Staff at the hospital know me from frequent trips here over the past twenty years. My dad turned 90 this past week and I can’t thank the Benefis Hospital in Great Falls, Montana enough as ...
11 Strategies Teachers Can Use to Deal With Difficult Adults
By: Jon Konen | Mar 9, 2021
Wouldn’t you like to never talk to or be around certain people ever again? Your brain wants to tell your mouth so many things, but as an educator, you need to show unbelievable restraint.
In the job you get to experience the joy of being able to work with some amazing ...
Teacher Self Care: 5 Strategies for Giving Yourself Time to Recoup… So You’re Able to Give More of Yourself
By: Jon Konen | Mar 2, 2021
Have you heard of the saying, “Covid Fatigue?”
Imagine a classroom full of students with bright eyes and happy faces. All the students are dancing in the classroom and singing a song about obtuse, acute, right, and straight angles. Their arms stretched out matching the type of triangle in which they ...
As We Begin Year Two of the Pandemic, It’s Time to Talk About the Mental Health of Our Students and Teachers
By: Mary McLaughlin | Feb 8, 2021
Last week my school’s second semester began. My paraprofessional and I were talking about how time flies when I said, “I feel like we’re all doing okay. Everyone’s working their guts out, but we’re halfway to summer vacation. Dang, we’re good.”
She just stared at me. The pregnant pause was just ...
“If not us, then who?” – 7 Reasons Why Remote Learning Options NEED to Be a Permanent Part of Public Education
By: Jon Konen | Feb 2, 2021
“Never let a good crisis go to waste…” – Winston Churchill
We can fight the idea of remote learning becoming a mainstay in public education. In fact, it’s pretty easy to pick on. We know it isn’t as strong a method of instruction as compared to learning onsite and face to ...
Teaching is Not a Job. It’s a Calling…
By: Brian Miller | Jan 6, 2021
“What keeps you going? What encourages you? Why haven’t you quit?”
I read those lines a few days ago in a book entitled, Leading with a Limp by Dan Allender and instantly underlined them. Not because I’m ready to turn in my keys, but because I know a lot of educators ...
Rising Above the Pandemic to Make the Rest of the School Year Great for the Students We Teach
By: Mary McLaughlin | Dec 29, 2020
Winter break is finally here and I’m exhausted. My colleagues are worn out. My administrators are ready for a rest. We’re pooped. But we feel a sense of satisfaction that in a year that will go on record as the ultimate crapfest, we’ve done our best to make it as ...