Why Do People Hate Teachers? Spoiler! It’s Misogyny!

Ah, teachers. Those lazy, overpaid, glorified babysitters who spend their summers lounging by the pool, sipping margaritas while the rest of us suffer in the “real world.” At least, that’s the narrative some folks would have you believe. But let’s be honest—this whole “teachers are the root of all evil” rhetoric has a lot less […]

Pushing Struggling Students Into Trades May Be a Recipe for Disaster

There’s this idea floating around that if a kid isn’t “college material,” we should just push them into the trades. After all, trades are supposed to be the easier, more practical option, right? It’s a convenient way to shuffle struggling students off the academic path and into something “hands-on,” but let’s be real: this mentality […]

When “Building Culture” Becomes Gaslighting

We’ve all heard it: “We need to build a positive school culture.” It’s the phrase that gets tossed around every time there’s an issue with student behavior or academic performance. But let’s get real for a second—how many times has “building culture” been used to gloss over the fact that there are serious problems in […]

New GIGANTIC Client-Connected Presentation Unit on Chronic Absenteeism

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, fostering meaningful connections between students and real-world issues is essential for cultivating critical thinking and problem-solving skills. One compelling way to achieve this is through client-connected projects, where students actively engage with a real client to address pressing challenges. One such profound and impactful assignment revolves around chronic school […]

The Gracelessness of “Grace”

By extending limitless grace, we tell students exactly what we expect of them. Apparently, we don’t expect much; there, I said it. Ugly truth? It’s just easier to let them get away with murder and call it grace than it is to hold them accountable in ways that are effective and teachable. Maybe we just don’t have the resources, and calling it grace sounds nicer than “we’re just too tired to fight them.”

Data Collection Forms

It has long been a source of fury for me when students are moved to more restrictive settings without reliable data or without having tried every reasonable intervention to allow them to remain in the least restrictive educational setting. I’ve seen firsthand how it can turn a kid’s world upside down to be removed from […]

The Grand Poobah of Sub Folders!

It’s easy to forget that cold and flu season is upon us when it’s still 95 degrees outside. Nevertheless, winter is coming and, along with it, the dreaded Teacher Absence. In my early teaching years, my sub folder sucked. I filled out the single sheet that the office lady gave me at pre-service training, then […]