By Jami Courson Virtual learning revealed to the world what educators have known for decades: teacher-student relationships matter. Research shows that student achievement increases and questionable behavior decreases when students believe that their teacher cares for them. As Dr. Jon Eckert writes in his book Just Teaching, “We have learned that being present and in relationship matters for each student. Learning in person increases student morale and student achievement. Having teachers who care improves student […]
Month: October 2023
What To Do When You’re Not Loving It
By Meredith Frey The McDonald’s arches beam bright as I drive to school, beautifully framed in front of the rising sunshine. I wonder to myself, like the McDonald’s slogan, what do I do when I am not loving it? What do I do when teaching becomes hard, and I am already thinking about heading home during my drive to work. What do I do when my heart yearns to be back in my cozy bed, […]
A F.E.W. Just Words
By Bing Parks A RAP LESSON My students’ favorite music genre is rap. We will analyze the messages in rap lyrics and discuss the impact of the rapper’s diction. Sometimes the students wonder why we are spending so much time on the lyrics and ask if they could just listen to the song and move on. They argue that they are just words, after all. So, one day I told them I was the best […]