This school year, much of my focus has been on student empowerment. My district has undergone some massive shifts, all centralized around the concept of personalized learning. It has been a powerful overhaul, and one that has involved a lot of time and effort from devoted teachers. A majority of us have taken huge steps… Continue reading The Passion Project
Tag: student voice
Being Human
Did you ever run into your teacher outside of school when you were a kid? It was weird, right? Like they had an actual life, outside of school, where they bought groceries and hung out with their friends and family. It was so hard to fathom then that my teachers were real, human people. As… Continue reading Being Human
Becoming a better writing teacher
These past couple years as a language arts teacher have been life changing. I have discovered my passion for teaching this subject area and am so glad I do. I love connecting with students over different books, discussing our reading preferences, and helping students discover the magic within writing. I speak to the beauties of… Continue reading Becoming a better writing teacher
They have a story
Empowering student voice Just this week we finished up one of my favorite units of the school year. The Library of Congress sponsors a national letter writing contest where students spend time considering books that have had a major influence on them, and then write to the authors of those very books.Even that stands to… Continue reading They have a story
On Compliance [Part 2: Students Deserve Answers]
As teachers, reflecting on our why is commonplace. We often refer back to why we choose to spend our days surrounded by children, why we exhaust our resources and ourselves day in and day out, and why it is so worth it to help shape the educational experiences of our students. Lately, the push in… Continue reading On Compliance [Part 2: Students Deserve Answers]
On Compliance [Part 1: Wait for Directions]
I’ve heard many conversations lately surrounding the new generation of students that are just now entering college or the workforce. They are venturing out on their own for the first time and attempting to find their way. It’s exciting for them to enter into this newfound independence, and many of them are bright-eyed and enthusiastic… Continue reading On Compliance [Part 1: Wait for Directions]
Who are you as a writer?
I’ve been considering this question for some time, even more after hearing Pernille Ripp’s “Creating Passionate Writers” talk at nErDcampMI. It’s such a complex question with many facets, and one that took a lot of inner reflection and consideration to answer. Mainly because, until I really sat down and started allowing myself to write freely,… Continue reading Who are you as a writer?
Why I Encourage Cell Phones in the Classroom
You’re in your classroom teaching your heart out, really delivering the lesson on intensive vs. reflexive pronouns when all of a sudden, a phone starts going off. You stop talking, every kid is looking around, and you find the one student scrambling around trying to make the noise stop as quickly as possible. Their face… Continue reading Why I Encourage Cell Phones in the Classroom
What REALLY happens when you give students choice & voice in the classroom
Recently, my district has been making a shift toward a more personalized learning structure for our students. As part of this, we have implemented a variety of pieces of the personalized learning honeycomb. As professionals, we are each implementing new aspects into our classrooms, moving at our own paces. To be quite honest, I’ve been… Continue reading What REALLY happens when you give students choice & voice in the classroom
