The 2020-2021 school year was the year of the unexpected, the year of changes, the year of disappointments, the year of frustrations, and certainly the year of loss. It goes down in my book as the hardest year of my teaching career -- that includes the first year I taught in middle school, the first year I was a lead in an inclusion classroom, the year I taught while building a house, the first year I was the new yearbook adviser, and the year I taught while having multiple surgeries for some serious medical issues. And let's not forget that I … [Read more...]
Tips for Grading Essays to Save Time
Aaaaah. The grading essays burden of the English teacher. It's a very real struggle for sure. A little while back I did a series on teaching writing, so I'd like to think of this post as an encore to those ideas. (Get started reading that series here at the first post.) Below I'm sharing five practical tips for managing the load.- Working Those Deadlines:First is planning time in the writing process to have check points that students submit via Google classroom - or whatever method works for you. Students submit thesis statements, … [Read more...]
A Teacher’s Guide to Having a Stressful School Year
It’s 2.5 weeks into the beginning of the school year, and I have three to-do lists going (and I can’t remember where one of them is). I’ve already had a migraine, stomach bug of some sort, and I’ve not been getting enough sleep. Sound familiar year after year?What’s the culprit? It’s simple – stress. A teacher’s life will always be stressful to some degree because that’s just the nature of the job -- even more now than ever -- but there are a few things that tend to add more stress than others. If you don't want to repeat … [Read more...]
