We need to change our high-school students’ expectations about teacher feedback
At the beginning of the year, my Chicago Public Schools high-school students expressed lots of frustration because I didn’t write any comments on their first major essay. “You need to give us feedback,” they demanded. Some doubted I read their essays because I didn’t make a mark. I explained that one of my goals as…
National Board Recognizes 11 Districts for Commitment to Accomplished Teaching
The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards announced today that 11 school districts have been named National Board Accomplished Districts for their investment of resources to support advancing quality teaching through National Board Certification. These districts join 81 accomplished districts designated earlier this year in their efforts to encourage teachers to be their best and…
Asset-Based Grading to Reward Students for What They Know
Teachers can adopt better grading strategies to reward students for the knowledge they’ve gained, instead of penalizing them for what they haven’t yet mastered My son’s first grade teacher told me that he was lucky to have a younger sister. Six-year-olds are not known for their empathy, and part of Mrs. Seabolt’s job was to…
Racism, Privilege and Implicit Bias: One Teacher’s Journey, Part 2
Last week I wrote about my personal journey to a better understanding of my own white privilege and implicit biases. This week, I would like to suggest three concrete steps white teachers like me can take to acknowledge and address issues of systemic racism in our schools. We can actively decide to set aside our…
Racism, Privilege and Implicit Bias: One Teacher’s Journey, Part 1
I can vividly remember the first time I encountered racism. A white student, a senior in high school, had just finished reading Richard Wright’s Native Son. It was, to my knowledge, the first book by an African-American writer that he had ever read. Another white student asked him whether it was difficult to read. “Well,…
Keep on Staying
After a long day at school, I will get on my phone and see what stories are in the news. I read lots of articles about teaching. Recently, I have been reading too many accounts of why teachers have chosen to leave the profession entirely. I find this distressing. Teaching is my second career. My…
Upcoming National Board Webinars
Teams of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) will be hosting informational webinars for those interested in becoming Board-certified. There will also be webinars for current NBCTs who are renewal eligible. This will be a chance to hear directly from NBCTs and also pose your questions to the team. Register today! Continue your National Board Journey…
Se lanza la versión en español Lo que los maestros deberian saber y poder hacer
La Junta Nacional para las Normas Profesionales en la Enseñanza (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) presentó hoy la versión en español del libro fundamental Lo que los maestros deberían saber y poder hacer (What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do) — también conocido como el libro Qué. Al traducir el libro Qué…
