New Terrain
Jessica Shyu, who taught special education for two years at an American Indian reservation school in New Mexico, was also a program director for Teach For America in Washington, D.C., where she supported and trained TFA teachers. In this opinion blog, Jessica wrote about the lives of new teachers in today’s schools, exploring their practice, experiences, and career challenges and opportunities. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: new teachers.
Education
Opinion
Early Childhood: Closing the Gap Before it Opens
We are closing the achievement gap before it ever begins.
Education Funding
Opinion
Money, money, money
For at least one child in DC, the student pay system is working. It's helping to close the achievement gap. Hooray to Roland Fryer and the system he created to pay students $50 for every A earned. (Check out The Colbert Report's interview with the founding economist of the program.)
Education
Opinion
1... 2... 3... 4... Yay!
I have a meeting in half an hour with my teachers and I haven't finished preparing for it yet. I'm sitting in a bagel shop in northeast DC trying to cram in work in between school meetings, but I just spent 20 minutes teaching a little girl whose parents work at the shop to count to 4. I think Teach For America will count this as time well worked. =)
Education
Opinion
... and they keep on moving
This is for all the students, teachers, administrators, support staff and families who keep keep on moving. This is for everyone who pauses to mourn and reflect, but refuses to stop the learning and teaching after a fight, a shooting, a stabbing, a threat.
Education
Opinion
Public or Private?
The everlasting question: Public or private?
As The Washington Post inevitably reports about the Obamas' personal transition to my hometown, the focus has been on the children's schools. Today's article finally called out the elephant in the room: "Like many parents moving their children to Washington, Barack and Michelle Obama will be told to avoid D.C. public schools. Is that good advice?"
As The Washington Post inevitably reports about the Obamas' personal transition to my hometown, the focus has been on the children's schools. Today's article finally called out the elephant in the room: "Like many parents moving their children to Washington, Barack and Michelle Obama will be told to avoid D.C. public schools. Is that good advice?"
Education
Opinion
Baracking the vote
It's a pretty magical time in DC's public schools. I couldn't talk to a student about their slope calculations in geometry class until they excitedly asked me who I voted for. I maintain my non-partisanship as a professional and Americorps affiliate, but after enough nagging by a 15-year-old bursting with joy and pinned with Obama buttons, I just had to lean over and whisper, "I Baracked the vote."
Education
Opinion
From My Weekly eBlast to My Teachers...
Action: OK, speducators, no words of encouragement this week. Instead, to address the needs of our visual and auditory learners, take two minutes right now, and watch this video: http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=626bb37094ff3562a20ce1&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url
Education
Opinion
Backwards plan, stay positive, and go to the gym
Hang tight, my first-year friends, because October is almost over.
Education
Opinion
Worldiness
I admit, when my students used to misbehave, I occasionally strayed from my consequence plans and would pull a version of the age-old parental guilt-trip: Don't you know there are children in [insert impoverished country] who don't even have the privilege of school? Don't you know they walk miles and miles each day to practice math under a tree using a stick to write numbers in the dirt? And you're sitting here telling me you don't feel like solving for x? I'll tell you: You are lucky to be solving for x. You even have air conditioning.
Education
Opinion
... this is only the beginning
At the end of a meeting today with a first-year teacher, she turned to me and nervously asked, "Do you think it's still possible at this point in the year for me to get my students to reach really great gains?"
Education
Opinion
Community around adoptive families
Here's a dose of warm and fuzzy for this Tuesday morning:
Education
Opinion
Harlem Children's Zone
If I were not a program director with Teach For America, I would be teaching. If I wasn't teaching, I would want to work here: Harlem Children's Zone. Their mission to close the social gap by mobilizing EVERYTHING is gutsy, energizing and makes so much sense.
Education
Opinion
The loudest changes of all
I met a teacher in her classroom after school yesterday for a meeting, and the students banging and clashing across the hall practicing for drum line try-outs was so loud, we had to take our meeting to the other side of the school. It was so awesome.
Education
Opinion
This is for Ralph
Anyone who says teachers who believe in closing the achievement gap are unrealistic idealists can only possibly be talking about teachers who have never spent a day teaching in a high-needs school in some of our country's most under-resourced communities.
