PBS Has TeacherLine Opportunities for National Board Certified Teachers
PBS TeacherLine has a number of opportunities for educators starting soon! Read on to learn more. Science teachers: Are you looking for quality, in-depth professional development to improve your teaching practice? Need the flexibility of an online course? Check out PBS TeacherLine’s Accomplished Science Teaching: Letting Science Lead. This research-based course, developed in collaboration with…
7 Experiences New Teachers Should Seek Out for a More Satisfying Career
Congratulations, or belated congratulations, on starting your new (still relatively new) career! While teaching could certainly be a more lucrative profession, it offers a variety of rewarding experiences you can’t find in any other work. The relationships we build with students, families, and communities can be powerful, even transformative. Knowing the work our fellow teachers…
Bald Caps and Basquiat: How the Arts Transform Learning
When I was nine, I auditioned for a musical and in my first ever role played a bald, evil king in a purple satin robe. I discovered two things: (1) I was passionate about theatre, and (2) not so passionate about wearing a bald cap. Bald caps aside, I marvel at how that single theatrical…
From NBCT to TIME Magazine
I remember it like it was yesterday. Sitting in my principal’s office… typing in my information to log on… and when I did I saw the words, I honestly wasn’t expecting to see them: CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU ARE A NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFIED TEACHER! My heart stopped and all I remember is screaming at the top of…
The Moral Imperative of Voting – Civic Education Begins at Home
Recently, my young adult children informed me that there are two “taboo” topics that shouldn’t be discussed around the kitchen table or at family gatherings: politics and religion. So, if politics isn’t discussed at these events, then when are future young voters getting the opportunity to engage in purposeful conversation with their peers, their families,…
Can Executive Function Skills be a School-wide Focus?
I would be willing to contend that every teacher has had that moment when for some reason they were next to a student who opened their backpack and it was filled with handfuls of loose papers, maybe one notebook for all subjects, and sometimes an old snack at the bottom. Or you may be able…
Ace in the Hand: Principal Support for National Board Candidates
In a game of cards, drawing the right card at the right time makes all the difference. It’s primarily a game of luck, and skilled players have better chances. In schools today, having the right teachers makes all the difference. But this is not a game of chance. Skilled principals can stack the deck to…
Is it Important for Students to Want to Learn in Order to Succeed in Learning?
Throughout my teaching career, I have pursued a variety of instructional strategies to increase student learning to a deeper and lasting level for all students. Through this endeavor, I found that one especially prominent underlying cause for student failure or success was student motivation and willingness to learn. Although there are many factors that play…
National Board Certified Teachers Appointed to National Assessment Governing Board
The National Assessment Governing Board has appointed five leaders from across the United States to serve four-year terms. These appointees will help determine policy for the Nation’s Report Card. Among those appointed are two National Board Certified Teachers: Mark Miller, eighth-grade teacher, and Nardi Routten, fourth-grade teacher. "We are excited to have such a breadth of talent…
