TEACH Magazine

Conflict-resolution skills don’t come naturally. They are learned, observed, and practiced. The classroom is a great place to safely work on these skills.

Beverley Brenna knows what children like to read. She has written award-winning children’s books. She teaches prospective English teachers in the University of Saskatchewan’s education program. Before that, she was a classroom teacher—a reading specialist for several years. But she’s “regretful” she couldn’t offer her students a valuable tool: graphic novels.

Here are some apps that can get kids excited about coding from a young age.

Many people enter education to benefit society, but professional realities can cause some teachers to look for other jobs as they’re completing end-of-year reports.

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 academic curriculum already in place. I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I set out on this technology adventure, but I quickly realized that trail-blazing wasn't all glitter and rainbows.

Anyone who is familiar with teenagers knows that when one volunteers information about their school day to his parents—it’s big. Huge. That’s thanks to the phenomenon of Pokémon Go. The day after the official launch, my soon-to-be-in-grade-nine son, Alex, unexpectedly texted me from his summer transition program because his teacher had just announced that there would be a Pokémon Go Club starting the next day. I knew we wouldn’t even have to go through the “What did you do today? / Nothing…” dinner conversation that night!

Ed Boland wishes he’d read his book before he began teaching. After more than 20 years in educational administration, much of that time spent helping students from low-income situations improve their education, he decided to help in a more direct way. He wanted to teach. In 2006, after years of juggling work and graduate school, he joined the ranks of public high school teachers in New York City.

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.