low light photography of woman in gray knit sweatshirt writing on desk
Teaching

My view on homework

At the beginning of each school year, I stand in front of my students and I state, “Homework is a bad word. We don’t use it in my classroom. However, if you end up with homework in my class, know that it was a choice you made when you chose to do other things instead …

managing stress as a teacher
Life

Managing Stress as a Teacher

This school year was a complete gamechanger for me. At the beginning of the school year, I was already feeling an overwhelming amount of anxiety and stress, and I was, unfortunately, suicidal. I mentioned this to my doctor who brushed it off and stated I needed to get my stress under control so that my …

woman in red long sleeve shirt
Teaching

When do you adapt instruction to student needs?

When it comes to adapting your instruction to fit student needs, do you do it before instruction, during instruction, or after instruction? Prior to this year, I always managed to foresee changes and adapt my lesson plans/instruction prior to teaching. This year? This year brings all new challenges. In a class with multiple reading abilities, …

person shadow boxing grayscale
Teaching

Story Time Sunday: Spring Has Sprung

There’s something that happens in schools when the weather starts to warm up. You see, as the weather warms up, the students get restless. Sometimes it has to do with hormones (thirteen is that wonderful age where many begin to feel the fluctuating hormonal roller coaster as their body begins to adjust). Sometimes it is …

red apple fruit on four pyle books
Teaching

Teaching Standards

Recently we were notified that South Carolina had created another set of standards for ELA. This will be the 4th set of standards I’ve taught since I began teaching in 2012. Of course, we will not begin teaching these standards in middle school until the 2024-2025 school year. I think my biggest problem with a …