The trick to not using all your personal days during the first month of school is to focus on stopping bad behavior before it starts, instead of punishing students after the fact.

I am a teacher in southern West Virginia, a region defined by stereotypes and hit hard by America’s opioid epidemic.

As an educator, my classroom isn’t just a space for reciting facts and figures. It’s a dynamic environment where learning extends far beyond the curriculum.

I hadn’t taken my first lap around the room to check for understanding. In fact, I hadn’t even finished explaining the warm-up instructions. But already, there was a hand in the air. For me, that hand belonged to Justin.

Students want to read stories that matter to them and, most of all, they want to see themselves reflected within the pages of their beloved comics.

As a third-grade teacher, I’ve dealt with my fair share of reluctant writers. But when faced with one particularly resistant student, I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone.

Thanks to a collaboration with musician and anti-bullying advocate RobenX, I discovered many strategies for reaching students in new and lasting ways.

At first glance, the Montessori method and the Science of Reading appear to be opposing philosophies. But if you look closer, they are in fact surprisingly similar.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that rules without relationships lead to rebellion. Yet today, relationships with students seem to be feared instead of embraced. Over the years, quite by accident, I have discovered that this precept from days gone by is critical to classroom rules and to learning itself. Relationships are an essential part of learning, especially relationships between teachers and students.