I’ve been a math teacher of upper elementary up to Algebra level for many years and have taught in a wide variety of settings. These include public, charter, and private schools. I’ve taught in schools with primarily black students, Latino students, and white students ranging from low socio-economic demographics to affluent populations. Despite this variety, one constant that is always…
“I’m not a math person.” As a math teacher, I hear this quite often from both students and parents. Why do we say this about math? You don’t really hear people say they aren’t a reading person or a social studies person. They may say they don’t like reading or don’t like history but that’s a matter of interest. Saying,…
Teachers are largely under appreciated. Being a longtime teacher, I know I’m biased. There are certainly bad teachers, but there are also bad lawyers, bad doctors, and bad construction workers. When you have excellent teachers though, they are invaluable. But no matter how great and dedicated a teacher is, there’s no question that the parenting of a student is still…
As a long time teacher, I often think about the strong correlation between effective teaching practices and effective parenting. Even before I had kids, my colleagues and I would discuss the strong parenting traits that helped students thrive while lamenting the lack of parenting that hindered students. It often seemed that the same practices that were successful in teaching applied…