Empathy: Turning the Forgotten into the Benchmark
Most people tend to assume that my students are capable of less-than-stellar academic performances because they have complicated lives outside school.
Columns
Teacher Presence: Invaluable or Overrated?
When you have a teacher who has presence, students are impacted in ways that positively affect the class. But what exactly is teacher presence?
Movement in the Classroom
After teaching at an alternative middle school for the past 4 years, the one thing I constantly hear from new students is: “We can move around in your room and not get in trouble?
“But I’m just not a good writer”
As soon as I utter the words “writing assignment,” a look of panic appears on my students’ faces. Their hands shoot up like rockets and the questions immediately start.
Better Serving Introverts in the Classroom
As curriculums move away from an emphasis on content to skills, the time is right to use that move as an opportunity to better serve introverts in school.
The STEM Effect
Certain buzz words and topics come and go in the arena of education. Currently, the word to know is STEM, the acronym for science, technology, engineering, and math.
Little School, Big Heart
It began on a lovely spring afternoon in 2015, when a Grade 7 student came up to me during recess: Student: “Do you know Rick Mercer?” Me: “Yup.” Student: “Do you know about ...
Teaching like a Fool: Shakespearean Wisdom in the Classroom
I have gleaned three wise teachings from King Lear's fool and each one informs my practice in the classroom more and more each day.
Eight Tips for the New Techy Teacher
Two years ago, my principal rolled an iPad cart into my classroom. I'd been challenged to design and implement a 1:1 iPad program that would enhance the highly structured ...
Bathrooms and Blackboards: Helping Students with IBD
School is a part of every child’s life. During their academic years, students deal with so many different facets of growth and development—physical, cognitive, emotional, and ...