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Is That the Best You Could Do?

Some students are elated and expectant when they get their report cards. They know they have worked hard and that their hard work has paid off. They look forward to the celebration and gifts that were promised and bask in their accomplishments.  I wasn't that student.  I was the student who despite my hard work and effort, could not achieve beyond average grades. I was the student who was always struggling academically. I was the student who was the "dunce-est" among her siblings (who are brilliant). I was the student who did the walk of shame on report card day.  My first year in high school was perhaps my worst year academically. I was perpetually lost and eventually lost interest in school. Preferring, instead, to lose myself in a romantic novel. I was an avid reader, but could not comprehend much of what was being taught in this new school. That year, on report card day, I was ranked 37 out of 39 students. I remember the shame I felt when I received the response - ...
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Netiquette in Remote Learning: Win or Loss?

On March 13, 2020, my students and I spent the last few minutes of the day sanitizing, packing, and tidying up our classroom, as was our usual practice. What was unusual was that we were scared and the immediate future was uncertain. Schools across the country were being shut down and it had been all over the media that the deadly Corona Virus was spreading rapidly. On Monday March 16, 2020 it was confirmed. Schools were closed and remote learning would begin.  Do you remember how you felt? Remote learning brought many challenges, not least of which was the fact that teachers and students had to learn quickly to use virtual meeting tools and navigate those tools in a way that promoted teaching and learning.  What were some of the challenges you faced with remote learning? The first challenge was, figuring out how to behave in a remote environment. Do we dress for work or is it ok to go on in our pajamas with a doo rag on our heads? How do we prepare a space for remote lear...
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Do Teachers Need Motivation Too?

A lunch hour meeting was called. Teachers were not happy. “This is my only free time! Why would they call a meeting now?” some complained. I dutifully made my way to the staff room where the meeting was to be held. As I went in, the Vice Principal handed me a container of pencils and said, “You are the first to arrive! Choose any two pencils.” I immediately began to smile. I felt encouraged and happy. I took my time choosing my prize. I sat and watched as teacher after teacher forgot about their annoyance at having a lunch hour meeting and got excited about choosing a pencil prize. This was over six years ago. I have thought about this day often as over the years at home and abroad, I have watched similar reactions from teachers at all ages and stages of life. Teachers are never out of pencils, so why was a pencil prize such a significant experience? I have come to the conclusion that the prize does not matter. What matters is the feeling that getting a prize evokes. The fe...
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