Teaching Contentious Topics & Civil Discourse

The way you approach the contentious topic matters. In this post, I discuss best practices and resources to help you!

Evolving

Every year, I choose a word to focus on through the year. I am not into resolutions, because in my younger years I set myself up to fail. It took a lot of reflecting and unlearning to understand that one word would help me best. Past words 2021: Embrace and Enjoy- I’ve worked hard my […]

Reframing Extra Credit

“Can I do extra credit to raise my grade?” I hated this question so much as a teacher. It required me to do more work and sometimes felt like it wasn’t a good practice. For a few years, I offered no extra credit because I didn’t have the capacity to grade anymore than I already […]

Reflecting After the Test or At The End of the Year

I never wanted to be that teacher who got stale. After I did my National Board Certification, I constantly was in a state of reflection. I tried to make the class enjoyable, rigorous and not increase my workload or make life harder for anyone. The day after the AP test, I had students reflect while […]

{Guest Post} How to Be an Expert in the Classroom with Brit Bingold

I was given an awesome opportunity to be on Liz Evans’ podcast, Teaching History, Politics, and Stuff, which was a joy and a “taste of my own medicine” as she was on Learning Unlocked in Season 1, Episode 11: “How to Avoid Teacher Burnout and the Comparison Trap.” When she came onto the podcast last […]

Learning Civics and Government as an Adult

Learning about civics and government is overwhelming as an adult. Civic education has evolved over time and as adults, some may feel cheated. The good news is it’s never too late to learn! Podcasts Straight up, just start with the National Constitution Center for podcasts, readings, and their Interactive Constitution. It’s charted by Congress and […]