Having finished a year of this, I have to say that my assessment of online learning is overwhelmingly negative. However, there are elements of the online teaching experience that I will take into my classes even when Covid is a memory and the Zoom stock levels out.
This transfer of education from the classroom to the virtual world requires you to own your education and decide that regardless of what happens, you are going to make sure your learning does not stop.
I’ve been a high school English teacher for so long that you’d think I had the letter writing gig down to a science. You know, finding ways to turn a lazy, obnoxious, entitled kid into a “witty future leader, brimming with possibilities.”
Robin Williams turned me into a teacher. Turned me onto poetry. Made me want to believe in the power of words and music. Granted, he didn’t write the screenplay for Dead Poets Society, but I doubt it could have been told… Read More ›
Writing Elves is taking a break this week. So guest blogger Matthew Silkin has stepped in to fill the void. Here’s his take on graduating high school – and graduations in general. Leave comments for him below. Follow him on… Read More ›
File this one under asinine. Emphasis on the first syllable. A friend of mine shared a project that her child’s school launched this year. It’s a school newspaper. I know that doesn’t seem like anything extraordinary, but this is a very… Read More ›
I have a confession to make. I hate The Scarlet Letter. I hated it in High School. I hated it in college. I hated it in Grad School. That might not seem like such a big deal to you, but… Read More ›
Dear Teacher, I am writing this to you because I have been in the education business for almost two decades and have been around the block, so to speak, in terms of teaching experience. I’m also a parent, so I… Read More ›
A few years ago, I wrote an article about our school greeter. He would stay in front of my kids’ school every morning, and…well…greet everyone. It was a wonderful way to start the day. They smiled and he shook their… Read More ›
I recently proctored the PSAT for approximately 85 tenth and eleventh graders. The PSAT doesn’t really mean anything in terms of getting a kid into college. I mean, it does qualify top scorers for the National Merit Scholarship (which is definitely nice), but PSAT scores… Read More ›