The Covid Effect By Jennifer Stark Two years of multiple school closures. Two years of multiple isolations. Two years of multiple interruptions. It's only natural that we recognize what our children have lost. Before Covid ever entered our lives, students either attended school or they were
Making the Unthinkable Thinkable – Learning to Move On!
Making the Unthinkable Thinkable - Learning to Move On By Jennifer Stark A number of months ago, I wrote an article about the infamous "mood cups" which helps students with mood identification. In past years, they have been very successful in my classrooms, as students were extremely
Student-Led Conferences – Teaching Accountability
Student-Led Conferences: Teaching Accountability By Jennifer Stark Progress reports went home two weeks ago. The infamous parent-teacher conferences were scheduled. To be honest, I actually love this time of year. I love to write, so progress reports allow me to use my profession to fulfill a
Exploring the “Thinking” Classroom
Exploring the "Thinking" Classroom By Jennifer Stark Lately, there has been a lot of buzz over classroom set-ups. We have teachers trying out the latest in creative, unique, and enticing set-ups; we have parents trying to understand them. Today's schools are anything but traditional. While we
A Power Shift -Educators and Power
A number of weeks ago, I had already thought about my next post. In fact, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I knew what I wanted to say, why I wanted to say it. However, I could not figure out HOW to write it. The words just would not flow. It affects me both personally and
Regulation City
September 24, 2019 Dear Readers, As the students enter into the class each morning, I quickly look around the room. Their facial expressions - a rainbow of happy, sad, perplexed, and excited faces - often leave me curious about their early mornings. You know the phrase, "A picture says 1000
The “Token” Smile!
Each morning, I wake up at 5am. My day begins very early, as a full-time teacher and mother of 5 children. I choose to get to work early; carpools, dinner, and homework call my name each night. I rarely get to bed before 11pm (my eldest is 12 years old), so early mornings allow me to work on my