Should Teachers Work in the Summer for Free? According to an article posted by Huffington Post, teachers at Benefield Elementary School, held free reading classes this summer. The article noted that more than 40 teachers volunteered to work three hours a week during this past June. I do understand that it’s an educator’s responsibility to teach, but can’t students be taught during regular school hours? I do commend teachers who volunteer, but I am also aware of the cons that come along with the pros.    Although it may benefit the students, I still feel a sense of unfairness when other …

Students today are at a higher risk for mental health issues due to an array of factors including the increase of social, emotional and physical demands placed on students. I, myself, have noticed school counselors’ offices flooded with student concerns. Not, to mention that a couple of weeks ago, online I happen to see “Depression Therapy” ranked in the number eight spot on Yahoo’s Trending Now, and in spot number nine on the same day was “Retirement." And another time a week following, “Depression” appeared again as number eight.  Experts believe that the economy plays a significant role in…

  I have gotten to the place where I am sick of tax dollars being spent on worthless educational research and people being put on a pedestal for doing it. Fine, go ahead, add up your data, but don’t give me some ridiculous conclusion that was obvious before conducting the worthless research in the beginning. Case-in-point: (And this is just one example, amongst too many) According to HealthDay News, a recent survey administered to 190 University of Pittsburgh students “found” that interference in students’ ability to learn and pay attention may be contributed to the students’ frequent amount …

Back in September, President Barack Obama made remarks on the No Child Left Behind Act he labels as a “Bureaucratic mandate from Washington that doesn’t produce results." Which, I’m sure most of us can agree on, especially the teachers. So I certainly do see this move, highly imperative; however, I’m not sure how effective it will be. According to the Center of Education Policy, last year, nearly half of school systems failed to meet requirements with some states tests being too hard and other states having a high number of low income students and minority immigrants, seeking to pass a bar, …

Recently, Education Week, a national education newspaper published by a nonprofit organization out of Maryland, released the Educational Research Center’s Quality Counts Report, which is an assessment of all states in two areas: educational output and compliance with policies. The element which observed educational output, focused on three factors: chances of student success, K-12 student achievement, and school finance. Georgia earned a C in chances for student success compared to the national average of C+. In the category of K-12 achievement, Georgia received a score along with the …

I’m sure you couldn’t help but notice the cold, toe-curling winds outside, and wouldn’t want to trade places with a student waiting at the bus stop in the freezing mornings for anything. So, as the kids return to school for this second week, I would like to remind parents about the importance of making sure they are bundling up well before they leave out the door. Some of the most important reasons would be to make sure that children are warm and that parents resist giving kids longer wait time before leaving the house, which causes a a lot of students to miss the school bus. Another reason …

We’re all familiar with the damage that gangs can do to individuals, families and communities. It has been reported that Gwinnett County Police arrested 49 members of a gang called “Gangster Disciples” and five of them were juveniles. The consensus is that there are about 31,000 gangs in the United States alone with over 850,000 members. Due to the outrage of gang committed crimes, The Gwinnett County Police Department has announced "a major gang sweep." They are cracking down on gangs and their crimes, which range from extreme violence, murder, drugs, burglary and robbery and carrying …

During the two weeks with no classroom teacher and the repetitious learning of different concepts, some students tend to get out of the learning mode, and have a difficult time getting themselves back acclimated or fitting right back in where the teacher left off after the New Year. Because of this, it is quite helpful for students to not completely break away from learning during their holiday “break." A little reinforcement on different subjects will help keep their little brains busy, if you know what I mean. Some teachers may have sent home a holiday homework packet. If not, here are a …

Gwinnett County will be one of 26 school districts to implement the new Georgia Department of Education Evaluation System in schools, with more districts in wait of what will be evident for them as well. Many states are coming up with new teacher and principal evaluation methods in hopes of getting waivers from the Bush-era No Child Left behind law. Last year, Georgia won a $400 million grant from the federal program “Race to the Top” competition to improve student performance. The state was then presented with a $758,000 contract for expert assistance in developing an evaluation system for …

Would you throw a dime in the garbage? I wouldn’t think so, but that’s what many of us are doing without realizing just how much those little, pink labels called “Box Tops for Education” are worth when we leisurely toss them right with the trash. Box Tops are worth 10 cents each with occasional Bonus Box Tops printed that are worth more and can be used to raise hundreds and even thousands of dollars for individual schools. Now, can you imagine just how much money you’ve probably already donated to a garbage heap somewhere instead of a local school? Yes, you were wrong…LOL… Watch for these …

On November 1, 2011 President Barack Obama released the President Proclamation declaring November as National Adoption Month. President Obama then encouraged  “All Americans to observe this month by answering the call to find homes for every child in America in need of a permanent and caring family, and to support the families who care for them." With that being said, I took this month as the most opportune time to raise awareness about adoption and youth from foster care in the process. A friend of mine, who I will refer to as “ Ms. Concerned," vents to me, with valid reason, often in …

“Liar, liar, pants on fire, nose as long as a telephone wire.”  I have caught students red-handed in the act of doing things; nevertheless, they will insist that they weren’t. My mother would always say there is nothing worse than a liar and a thief. Today I repeat the same rhyme and theory; however, it still ceases to halt or convince some of my students that lies can’t cancel each other out. I explain to them that if a person tells one, he/she has to tell another and another and another. So, of course if someone does something for such a long period of time, he/she becomes a master at it. …

I wasn't surprised the results of my survey presented over half of children aren't playing outside. The poll concluded with me evaluting the subject deeper and explaining to my students that one of the most valuable aspects of being a child is expanding your horizons by exploring the outdoors and getting a taste of it, literally and figuratively. Of course, this segued into me telling them the stories of when I was growing up and how all the kids roamed the woods in our entire neighborhood and even others, eating from the honeysuckle and blackberry bushes and tasting things to find out if …

Just last month, a friend from Maryland called and told me that she was having a difficult time consoling her teenage daughter whose close friend from high school had committed suicide. As if that wasn’t enough; again this week, I was at a friend’s house when she received a devastating phone call from Nebraska informing that her son-in-law had placed a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. These very close to home tragedies are alarming in so many ways; according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is one of the third leading causes of death amongst teenagers, and …

Although Massachusetts and California consider cursive writing important enough to re-include into instructional curriculum, 41 states including Georgia don't require students to learn the style of writing. Yet, as a classroom teacher in Georgia, I can't help but ponder over the question each year of whether or not I should embed the concept of cursive handwriting into my lessons although it is not required. As a I grew up, I can recall being taught cursive handwriting and using it each day in my school manuscripts and everyday life, but of course, times have changed. The use of technology …

Teachers have yet to evade the overwhelming use of profanity bouncing off the walls in the school hallways, slithering from the lips of students during  whispers, written so elegantly in notes, carved in desks, inscribed on books, restroom walls, or screamed across the table in the cafeteria as provocations to fight. Although many schools enforce strict no-profanity policies, the excessive use of vulgarities have become a norm for the climate of the American school.  Children as young as three-years-old are using vulgar language in their everyday conversation. Profanity is played through …

School systems across the nation every year give classes to teachers to increase awareness of the signs of child abuse due to the fact that educators are the largest group of mandated representatives. Although educators like myself, do our best to report suspicions, experts say most child abuse goes unreported and normally doesn’t come to surface until there has been repeat offenses or until children become adults. We have all heard the saying “hurt people hurt people"-- 90% of adult prisoners report being abused as a child. Eight out of 10 of these abusers are a parent or relative causing …

At six years old, I had engraved a stepping stone into my life, and I am realizing it today, as that school teacher decades later.  I’m not sure what made me stick to the plan, but whenever someone asked me what I wanted to be in life, my quick, impulsive reaction was always “A teacher." I can’t say if being a teacher was actually the career that I wanted at the time, but I had programmed myself to say it was.  Claiming it made me feel confident—and regardless of if it was just encoded in my head or not, I had a plan; therefore, I had a purpose and that is what made all the difference in the …

To make sure teachers and parents function cohesively, what do teachers want from parents? After teaching for over ten years, and opening the conversation with other teachers, I’ve gotten a substantial amount of feedback in regards to what we teachers ask from parents, and here's what we suggest parents do as part of the team:  Adamantly implement home interventions. Often parents are asked to implement a list of home interventions to assist a child in learning. Teachers ask that parents actually take the list serious, stick to the plan and document the results. For example, set and keep bed …

After children reach a certain age, many of us expect them to be accustomed to the process of coming home and completing their homework assignments, yet we often end up disappointed-- many children just refuse to do homework. Upon trial and error, I’ve learned there are interventions parents can use at home to get their child engaged and motivated about completing homework:   1. Communicate the Importance of Homework This goes a bit further than the infamous quote “Do it because I said so.” Providing conversation that gives insight as to why homework is important often helps children …