Tag: secondary

SCA Q&A

SCA Q&A

In 2019, the school I taught at reinstated March as “Inclusion Month” – a month filled with speakers and fundraisers and events to promote the acceptance, respect, and inclusion of all individuals. So, in light of this, I took a couple of days to do something a bit different in my classroom. (What? I wasn’t actively test prepping!? It’s okay, I’m no longer a teacher.)

I said to my students, “The best way to learn about something is to ask questions, right? Now, part of Inclusion Month is learning about disabilities so you can better include people who have them. And lucky for you, you all personally know someone with a disability whom you can ask questions!”

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High School Books You Should (re)Read

High School Books You Should (re)Read

One of the most common responses I get when I tell people I was a high school English teacher is “I didn’t actually read anything in high school” usually followed by “and nothing’s changed.” And then they laugh, as if that’s something unique.

The thing is, is that writing about Ataxia every week gets kind of depressing. And when I need to distract myself, I read. Or write. In this case, both.

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Top Teaching Tips

Top Teaching Tips

Since this is the first September in 25 years that I’m not excitedly going back to school, I’d love to instead share some teaching tips for anyone out there who’s brave enough to be educating teenagers for a living. 

To prove that other teachers should read this, let me throw some credentials at you: I taught high school English for eight years (all grade levels, plus A.P. Literature), have a Masters in Literacy, and three NYS teaching certifications. And, I mean, if you want to put a “teaching with a disability” label on this, I did this all with a chronic illness. So, there you go.

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