Sr. Boram, a Middle School teacher at Corpus Christi Holy Rosary School in Port Chester, NY, shares her own reflection on identity. My identity as a woman, Korean-American person, former journalist, immigrant, and Catholic consecrated religious Sister shapes everything I do as a teacher. Unlike most teachers, I literally wear…

“‘…I asked you to draw the drapes,’ said Mrs. Rogers. ‘I did! I did! See,’ said Ameila Bedelia. She held up her picture” (page 48).* First published in 1963, many of us have had the pleasure of reading at least one book in Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia series. We giggled…

This post is dedicated to all of the educators who continue to be there for their families — at home and at school. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. The Window It’s 6:40am when the alarm goes off. Reaching for the phone, I check my morning emails and get…

There it was, shouting up at me from the column labeled, “Student Engagement”. DEVELOPING. Of course, my immediate reaction was to defend myself, frantically scanning the rest of the rubric, grasping for any 3s or 4s I could get my hands on. But no matter what I found, the 2…

It’s June and everyone around you is wrapping up the year. Each day, students leave with armfuls of old projects and crinkled notebooks. Teachers are reorganizing the shelves and packing up books to prepare for a thorough room cleaning. It’s an exciting time for all…except maybe you. As a school…

The Pasta Principle I was on the phone with my Mom the other day and she was in the middle of a “trial run”, making homemade pasta. While we had experimented with this particular recipe a few years back, she was getting ready to share the process with a friend the next day…

The test goes out and the hands go up. It’s almost immediate, as if the two are somehow connected by string. The teacher quietly tiptoes over to the student’s desk and crouches, so as not to disturb the others. “What’s up?” I don’t get it. This test wasn’t a surprise…

“You talk too much.” There are moments as a teacher that will always stick out in your memory — the time that 4th grader, “James” impersonated Michael Jackson at the Halloween party and the girls giggled wildly; the time that “Nick’s” mother shared with you during conferences that it was the first year he…

Robyn slipped her textbook between the pillow and the mattress, one hand resting on its hard cover. It wasn’t exactly comfortable and she didn’t really believe what Sarah had told her, but she wasn’t going to take the chance. She needed that B+ and if it had to happen through…