This was my very first blog post, written in 2011, in response to my growing frustrations and fears over NCLB. Â I had met and spoken with Stephen Krashen, who encouraged me to start blogging, to get my voice of experience out there for others to hear. Â Although our ongoing battles in education may not compare to the historic (and ongoing) struggles for civil rights, we … Continue reading Fighting for the dream, continued
I had planned a follow-up to my recent Power of Positive Technology post… but then life happened. The new school year started on a Wednesday, and Thursday night my father died. He and my mom had been living with us for about five months, waiting to move into their new house. Dad had been sick for a long time, and we knew the end was … Continue reading …and then life happened
We work hard all year, writing and reading and analyzing and discussing and reading and writing some more. Â And then, all of our hard work and learning are evaluated and assessed in two days of state exams. Â Multiple-choice exams, mind you, no writing necessary. So we also work hard to create a testing environment that supports our students. Â We keep our daily routine the same. … Continue reading They’re kids, not Olympians
Our frenzied novel writing was repeatedly interrupted on November 30 as students let out yelps of joy when they met their word count goals. Even I disturbed the quiet when I took a writing break, loaded my novel into the NaNoWriMo word validator, and saw “WINNER!” flash across my screen. “I made it!” I yelled, jumping out of my chair and bowing to my students … Continue reading “A, B, C or D? Really?!?”
When I met my husband, he was teaching at a small, private school. On more than one occasion I joked that if he wanted to marry me, he had to get a job at a “real” school. There was nothing wrong with his school, but I just didn’t see private schools in our future. I had always assumed that my teacher/coach husband would join me … Continue reading I {heart} public schools!
(with gratitude to and reverence for the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Ten years ago, President George W. Bush, in whose symbolic shadow our children now shiver, signed the No Child Left Behind legislation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of children who had been seared in the flames of educational injustice. It promised a joyous daybreak to … Continue reading I Have a Dream for Students and Schools
Laura Bradley 