I was on the phone with my dad today, which is our Wednesday tradition, and we were having a conversation about education. It’s pretty typical for me to share what I’m up to with teaching and learning, and he usually has some input. He’s an incredibly fiery and vocal guy, clocking in at 5’5”, so… Continue reading Turn Off the Scoreboard
Tag: student voice
One Word 2020: Voice
Our voices are powerful things. Whether we express them verbally in person, through our words in writing, or any other mode of communication, they hold weight. They can be used to spread joy and positivity or to breed a negative message. In either case, they have great power. I was reminded recently of a TED… Continue reading One Word 2020: Voice
Learning from Student-Led Conferences
Last week, I had an interesting conference. For the past few years, our parent-teacher conferences have been student led. Our students spend time creating a presentation for their parents, complete with evidence of their learning, examples of work they’ve done, and rules they get to set for the 20 minutes they are in charge of… Continue reading Learning from Student-Led Conferences
Unconventional Teaching Practice: Grading Conferences
It’s no secret that I am a proponent of unconventional grading practices. In fact, I’ve written about the subject several times before. (Here, here, & here.) While I’ve been making the transition to a classroom that focuses less on points and percentages and hope to one day have a gradeless class, there’s been a returning… Continue reading Unconventional Teaching Practice: Grading Conferences
Letting Go of Control in Your Classroom
When I talk to other teachers about personalized learning, I always share how difficult it was for me at the beginning (and sometimes it still is). There are always challenges with anything, especially when it’s new, and personalized learning is no different. This philosophy allows for a lot of student freedom, self-regulation, and choice, which… Continue reading Letting Go of Control in Your Classroom
What I Do in the First Week of School
The first week of school is a hectic one. No one is quite used to the new routine, everyone is still half in summer mode, and you’re busy trying to welcome and connect with a whole new group of students. There’s a lot of advice out there on those first few days, and people hold… Continue reading What I Do in the First Week of School
The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten
In my lifetime, I’ve gotten a lot of advice. From family members, friends, veteran teachers, administrators, professors, parents… Some of it is good, some of it is helpful, and some I completely disregard—either to my benefit or peril. But the single best piece of advice I’ve ever received was in Dr. Johnson’s classroom management course,… Continue reading The best piece of advice I’ve ever gotten
Indoctrination
Indoctrination is a powerful word. The concept of teaching a group of people to accept your beliefs without question has an air of force to it. So much so, that to think of it happening to you is kind of frightening. As of late, I’ve seen this word used in several accusations towards teachers, publicly… Continue reading Indoctrination
Love, Mrs. G
Dear kiddos, It’s here. We’ve made it to the end of sixth grade. Some days have flown by, while others have seemed never ending. But we did it. Congratulations on successfully navigating your first year of middle school. You have come so far from the kiddos who were nervously trying to open their locker and… Continue reading Love, Mrs. G
Feedback FROM Students
“It is not enough to simply listen to student voice. Educators have an ethical imperative to do something with students, and that is why meaningful student involvement is vital to school improvement.” ― Adam Fletcher, Meaningful Student Involvement Guide to Students as Partners Feedback in the classroom is an important aspect of educational practice. It is… Continue reading Feedback FROM Students
Curriculum Coffee 