Teaching in Progress

Standardized testing scores have become increasingly important over the last several years as school accreditation and teacher evaluations are tied to passing test scores.  The scores are so important that our curriculum has been narrowed to focus solely...

If you give a teacher a day to work in her classroom, she will probably be so startled by the amazingly shiny, waxed floors, she won't notice the that all the computers have been piled in the sink.
As she gazes across the shiny floor, she'll become so excited that she'll probably start unpacking the first box she gets her hands on, pulling out all the fun subitizing math centers with cute erasers from Dollar Tree....

We have all seen them as we scroll through our FB, Instagram, and Twitter feeds. Those concise, inspirational zingers that get to the heart of a matter in 20 words or less.
Some of them are cute, some are political, some are snarky. They are judgy, cliche, uplifting, or clever. They have the power to make us feel joy, have a moment of introspection, feel vindicated, or hang our head in shame....

Fidget spinners are all the rage these days - the latest toy fad to find its way into the classroom following in the footsteps of Pogs and Pokemon and Silly Bandz.
The difference with fidget spinners is that many students claim they need to spinners to help calm anxiety or improve focus.  While that may be true, the fact that half the class is spinning colorful, whirring toys around is actually creating more distraction...