Teaching Profession Blog

Teacher-Leader Voices

Past and present state teachers of the year weighed in on the most pressing issues in K-12 education, sharing their most promising insights from the classroom and seeding critical conversations about the future of teaching and learning. This blog is no longer being updated.

Teaching Profession Opinion Don't Use Gimmicks to Motivate Students
Do rewards and learning incentives actually harm our students?
June 5, 2018
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3 min read
Student Well-Being Opinion A Classroom Strategy for Improving Student Mental Health
What's one step that teachers can take improve student mental health? Find out from an award-winning teacher.
May 31, 2018
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4 min read
Education Opinion Enough With the 'End of Year' Countdowns
Teacher Darbie Valenti reflects on her own childhood to explain that while the end of the year is a time of celebration for most, it's a time of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty for countless others.
May 24, 2018
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2 min read
Recruitment & Retention Opinion Let's Be Clear: The Power of Precise Language at Work
Better words alone won't solve our issues in education, but they will reveal the exact contours of the problems and give us real information so we cantackle them.
May 16, 2018
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5 min read
Education Opinion In an Age of Information, Let's Teach Students Better Research Skills
Teaching students how to research today isn't no longer about academia. It's an act of citizenship.
May 10, 2018
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3 min read
Student Well-Being Opinion Why Students Check Out (and How We Can Check Them Back In)
Our students hold the answers: We must take time to listen.
May 3, 2018
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5 min read
Professional Development Opinion The Menace of Mechanical Teaching
What is worse than survival mode for teachers? Learn what one award-winning educator says.
April 30, 2018
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5 min read
Education Opinion Why I Stay in the Classroom
What's keeping an award-winning teacher in her classroom?
April 23, 2018
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3 min read
Education Opinion Why One West Virginia Teacher of the Year Stood on the Picket Lines
Why teacher walkouts are about standing up for kids
April 2, 2018
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3 min read
Education Opinion Honoring Student Voices: The Underside of Lessons
When students use their education to try and change the world, the adults should stand behind them.
March 27, 2018
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2 min read
Education Opinion Can Schools Discipline Students for Social Media Use Outside of School?
Looking for answers on whether or not you should address off-campus online student speech? Educator Gary Abud gives us some guidance.
March 19, 2018
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4 min read
Student Well-Being Opinion It's Time to Make It Clear Where You Stand on Race and Equity in Schools
"If I had had teachers of color as a student . . . I would have been more unequivocal in explaining why "All Lives Matter" is a perfunctory, misguided rebuttal to "Black Lives Matter."
March 12, 2018
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5 min read
Teaching Profession Opinion When White Teachers Avoid Conversations About Race, We Marginalize Students of Color
When you teach in a predominantly White community, conversations about race can be uncomfortable, even in professional settings. While we may feel we are being polite or even respectful, the truth is that we White teachers often lack the courage to include race in critical conversations about student performance.
February 26, 2018
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4 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion Someone Like Me: How One State Teacher of the Year Moved From Bias to Equity Literacy
I had to situate this seemingly small act of bias in a larger socio-political context. It was my responsibility to acknowledge the impact of my action and make intentional efforts to provide a counter narrative not only for Mohamed, but to every child in my classroom.
February 21, 2018
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6 min read
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