education – Middle School Writer

Quick Hits: High Poverty Urban and Rural Youth

Have you considered how poverty affects student achievement?

Do you know how legislation passed since 2009 aims to close achievement gaps and provide wraparound services for students?

Have you thought about the challenges of living in poverty for your students outside of school?

Are you familiar with organizations that provide support and services for high-poverty students in and out of school?

The Quick Hits slideshow below provides a high-level overview of these 4 questions:

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As we head into the holiday season, it’s increasingly important as educators to remind ourselves that students come from diverse backgrounds that impact their motivation to learn and future goals.

In the spirit of being a reflective educator, continue to ask yourself:

How does poverty affect student outcomes in your classroom?
- What are concrete steps you can take in your classroom to support students?
How can you leverage the organizations in your community as partners in your classroom?
- Identify organizations and how they can best assist you and your students before building partnerships; backwards plan starting with the goal.
How does legislation passed in the last 5 years affect your classroom and school?
- Focus on identifying what you are still in control of in your classroom amidst ever changing curriculum and evaluation policies.
What do your students do outside of school? What challenges do your students face at home?
- Identify ways to build relationships with students to learn about their backgrounds and structure emotional supports for students.

November 20, 2015November 22, 2015 by Mara Truslow Storey Categories: education, education reform, UncategorizedTags: education, language arts Leave a comment

Education in Nashville

Last year, I worked at a charter school; it was also my first year teaching. The learning curve was steep, the hours were long, but I would say I left with an understanding of what it means to teach. While the way I taught, and the way I was taught to teach, fit a prescribed mode of interacting with content and managing students, it was one way of teaching I mastered. The “Teach Like a Champion” management style was coupled with a skills-based, mastery-driven, data-centric mode of teaching content.