Blogs

Jenn Kittredge
Grade 5 Teacher/District Math Curriculum Leader

Lawn Ave. School, Jamestown

Learning is a journey. What happens to us on this journey stays with us and we take what we've learned from each experience to the next step. We can think of these experiences, skills, and habits of mind we've acquired as the contents of a backpack, one we all carry. As our students embark on their own journey, it is our responsibility as schools and educators to help them to fill their backpacks positively and meaningfully.

Oneika Castro

2019 District Teacher of the Year
English Language Arts Teacher / Humanities Department Head
Highlander Charter

As educators, we are responsible for meeting students where they are, and teaching them for growth. Unfortunately, many teachers assume socioeconomic status has prevented certain social groups from being able to access grade level content. This implicit bias stifles students from progressing. With enough scaffolding and support, all students can achieve and grow. Meanwhile, other students need to be challenged, and we shouldn't believe they can not continue to develop academically. With a variety of academic levels and abilities in front of us, we should not assume all students of similar backgrounds have similar learning styles and pacing; it is vital to our profession that we find "the sweet spot" - the balance of rigor and accessibility to make the content attainable for all.

In 2003, the United States Senate declared April “Financial Literacy for Youth Month.” A year later in March 2004, the United States Senate passed Resolution 316 to officially recognize April as “National Financial Literacy Month.” While some may greet the event in celebration, for the majority of America – such as the roughly sixty percent of working age individuals who do not own any retirement account assets – it is a call for action: an educational intervention for financial literacy to be taught, at the least, in all public schools… and yes, as a requirement. ...

Like many other teachers (I’m sure), I sometimes find myself rolling my eyes at the latest trends in social media. Whether it be a brand new “challenge,” or a YouTuber who gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for “unboxing” the latest and greatest makeup, I usually don’t buy into it. My seventh graders will ask me if I know what a new acronym means or if I watch some famous YouTuber, and react in pure shock and laughter when I respond with, “what?” or “who?”

Students can use the internet for everything these days, and much of their time seems to be consumed by social media. They can text each other without phone numbers. They can meet people from all over the world while they play a video game as a miniature car that plays soccer. They can edit their pictures with apps to make their teeth whiter or give themselves dog ears. Their options for engaging online are endless. ...

As a second grade teacher, my students are in the early stages of their education. Over the past few years, I have observed young children feeling anxious about coming to school, not feeling like they belong, and at times even having surprisingly low self-esteem. Four years ago, I made the transition from being a special educator in both self-contained and resource settings to a classroom teacher. Each of the classrooms in my school have different names for themselves: The Sullivan Superstars, Glorious Garcias, and Potter Magicians. Right away, the idea of The Kind Squad came to me. I knew my mission as a classroom teacher would not just be to teach the curriculum, differentiate instruction, and attempt to create lessons that touch upon all the modes of learning. My mission would be to create a classroom culture of inclusion, kindness, and positive self-esteem. ...