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 ...
Finding Ways to Persevere – Finding Joy and Remembering Why You Became a Teacher in the First Place
By: Mary McLaughlin | Dec 2, 2019
At every turn over the past week or two, it seemed too many colleagues were contemplating leaving Teaching.
One example is my friend, Lisa. She is a 26-year veteran Special Education Teacher. She has been in talks with a company that writes Individual Education Plan software. Citing the need for her ...
Dealing With The Perpetual Cycle of Giving and Getting Colds at School
By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 31, 2019
My friend: “I’ve had it. I’m so tired of being sick…and tired. I’m tired of parents sending their sick kids to school!”
Me: “What do you do when your kid is sick?”
My friend: “I have to send them to school. I’m a single parent and I have no one to stay ...
Educating Kids with PTSD
By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 17, 2019
Some years ago, a student entered my classroom.
It is never unusual for a Special Education Teacher to hear a knock on the door and have a new student and their family member standing there, along with a school representative, waiting to enter your classroom.
Such was the same for this child ...
Medicating Behavioral Problems Away: What Do Children Think About All the Meds They’re Being Prescribed?
By: Mary McLaughlin | Oct 8, 2019
Checking For Understanding
Thursdays is assessment day in my classroom.
It is the day where each child is given an assessment which directly addresses the goals set forth in their Individual Education Plan.
It is my responsibility, as their Teacher, to track how they’re doing…to monitor their progress toward those goals.
This weekly monitoring ...
3 Wishes I Made to a Genie to Change Education
By: Jon Konen | Sep 30, 2019
When I rubbed the Tylenol bottle, I found a mysterious and mythical genie popping out of the top. Though I was digging into this bottle to relieve my pain, I laughed as he told me he would grant me three educational wishes.
The genie seemed to have a glowing October orange ...
10 Reminders to Keep Your Sanity
By: Jon Konen | Sep 19, 2019
What many people in other professions don’t understand is how engrained and engaged educators are in the lives of their students once they step foot in our doorways. We now stay up at night worrying how to connect, how to feed, how to clothe, how to support their trauma, and ...
Administrators May Not Be Well Informed About Special Education Do’s and Don’ts: Educating the Educational Leader
By: Mary McLaughlin | Sep 13, 2019
My friend Elise was recently promoted to the role of school principal in her large urban district on the west coast.
During her 18 year tenure in the same district, she spent nearly a decade teaching third grade, a couple years as a Literacy Coach, and then was reluctantly cast into ...
Autism, the Impact of Trauma, and the First Days of School
By: Mary McLaughlin | Sep 12, 2019
Supports To Help Teachers In Meeting the Needs of a Growing Demographic In General Education and Special Education Classrooms
For students in my Southern school district, classes started in mid-August. Teachers returned for meetings a week prior.
With each passing school year, Administrations across the country engage their teams in conversations about ...
8 Teacher Tips When Dealing with Divorced Families
By: Jon Konen | Sep 10, 2019
It is not uncommon to have over half of your students coming from a divorced family. Unfortunately, that percentage continues to climb. Hopefully families can work together to find what’s best for the kids, even though there can be contentious and difficult situations.
Communication becomes difficult from a teacher’s standpoint when ...
7 Reasons You Will Want to Teach Like a Rock Star: Meet Hal Bowman!
By: Jon Konen | Sep 4, 2019
I had just suspended a student for doing something that I had done back when I was in school. I knew this student was not doing this as a personal attack on me or his teacher, yet I may have overreacted with the multiple consequences I had given him. This ...