For most adults, it is difficult to be objective when assessing ourselves. Classroom teachers are not an exception. From my experience, it isn’t from a lack of trying. Most teachers try to improve and reflect, but it can be a challenge. It’s difficult because teaching is a very personal thing. We teach from our heart and from our personality, so it can be hard to critique something that is so “close” to us—so near and dear to who we are and what we believe.

Like most people who were alive on September 11, 2001, I remember the day very vividly. I was a 23-year-old first-year teacher at a high school in Kansas. The events of the day were indescribable, devastating, and extremely emotional. I wasn’t sure if watching the footage with my class was appropriate, but that’s what I did—along with most of the teachers in the building.

Spring is finally here! And with all the new buds and blooming flowers comes state testing. Sigh.

Teaching is tough—it’s incredibly hard work and can be very taxing. There is increasing stress and work on teachers today, as evidenced by the high attrition rate that we see across the country.

Part of the stress that teachers feel is from outside influences, such as parents, government, district initiatives, and mandates, just to name a few. Additional stress comes from within the school—conflict with other staff members, student issues, lack of resources, and lack of support. As a school leader, how do we help teachers to combat this stress so they can thrive in our schools and not just survive in them?

STEAM activities are an educational goldmine these days, and schools across the country are finding innovative ways to incorporate STEAM within their buildings. There are multitudes of Pinterest activities, websites, articles, and books on this very topic. My school decided that a fun way to utilize STEAM activities—and teach families about STEAM—would be through a family night. This event would let students and their parents work together, build, play, and learn.

Spring is in full bloom and signs of new life are beginning to emerge everywhere. This time of year is an exciting one for teachers as there’s a renewed commitment to continue making an impact in the classroom—but there is still a lot going on with spring breaks, end of year assessments, ensuring standards are being met, and much more. For teachers, the challenge to stay motivated to finish the year strong and keep students engaged remains a mission.

Teachers wish for their students to be good citizens. This is true in the classroom, in the community, and on social media. The foundation of our democracy is active participation in government by its citizens. It is key to our future that students understand what it means to be a good citizen and how to interact appropriately within the community and government. There are many good resources available to teach students citizenship.

Our school, like many across the country, uses a “walkthrough” tool to help gather data and monitor teacher effectiveness. Part of the process for administrators as they walk through classrooms is to look for different aspects of good teaching practices. One of the expectations for our school is that teachers display their learning goal or objective somewhere in the classroom. This can feel like a hoop to jump through for teachers at times, but as an administrator, I'm not just looking for one more thing for my teachers to have to do each day. The philosophy behind it isn’t about the goal being posted as much as it is about the teacher and students clearly knowing what learning should be occurring—and to what level it should be learned at.

We’re back from the National Science Teachers Association’s 2018 National Conference on Science Education in Atlanta, Georgia! PowerUpED graciously gave us and Globisens, makers of the Labdisc portable STEM lab, the chance to collaborate with them on a workshop called “Make Science Relevant and Engaging,” which centered around the Labdisc mobile data logger.

What to Look and Listen for During an Interview

I am by no means a Human Resources expert—I don’t know all the ins and outs of the research behind hiring great candidates, nor do I have time to look through numerous resumes and applications. But after 13 years in the principal’s seat, I have probably sat through over 200 interviews. And even though interviews for custodians are different than interviews for band teachers, and interviews for 5th grade teachers are different than interviews for superintendents, I have found there are patterns that can be useful in finding good candidates for any position.