I recently wrote about why starting strong is a crucial part of any type of instruction on where we are building voice: writing and research being the two things I most frequently teach. Just a day after I posted that piece, one of my students restarted an important writing piece that he’d been working on… Continue reading starting strong with memoir– the how
what does it mean to be love?
Teaching children is an act of love. But love, as a concept, needs to be unpacked. It can so often be misunderstood! Love can be used as an excuse to avoid the bad stuff, to give ourselves credit for the intention rather than the execution. This is the second post on what it means, truly, to be… Continue reading what does it mean to be love?
learning love: a beginning
A year ago or so, I built a curriculum around what I believed it takes to lead with love, meant for educators who fight every day for our children to have access to high quality, loving education. Pieces of that curriculum have found their way into much of the teacher professional development that I do.… Continue reading learning love: a beginning
starting strong ~ the why
Week 1 of a new YPAR project, and I am thinking about how to help students start strong with their research projects. This time, I am working with 40 6th grade students – the youngest group I have worked with on a research project. In previous writing workshops and research seminars, I developed a set… Continue reading starting strong ~ the why
a guide to doing research
Why should you do research? Before we go into HOW to conduct research, I want you to be convinced of two things. To seek knowledge and information is a human right and research can be a way to wield power and change things. First, I believe research is a human right. I am guessing research… Continue reading a guide to doing research
care | voice | rigor : why all three are essential for a student-centered, learning-centered classroom
Here’s what I know for sure: Every educator’s work is ensuring every student feels cared for, challenged, and heard. None of these are ‘specialist’ topics. * ** Learning is built on all three legs: care, voice, and rigor. The table will fall (or tilt) if any one leg is shorter or weaker than the rest. Too little care… Continue reading care | voice | rigor : why all three are essential for a student-centered, learning-centered classroom
softening the edges of a school-wide language policy
In 2019, my first blog post here was about approaching language diversity in my English language classroom. I mentioned briefly that my school required English use in all contexts during the school day (from bus to lunch to the classroom), with the exception of the Hindi classroom. Fast forward five years – my role had… Continue reading softening the edges of a school-wide language policy
a tool for high school researchers
As an English teacher, I dove into blogs and books that decried “school genres.” Stacey Shubitz, Nancie Atwell, and others wanted students to write real pieces of writing: according to them, students could be poets, novelists, essayists, and reviewers, not just apprentices of the five-paragraph essay or book report. As I transitioned from teaching English… Continue reading a tool for high school researchers
The language of success: using one pandemic inequity as an opportunity for community and learning
I co-wrote this piece with my colleague and friend Sana. We discuss our experiences and learnings leading a series of professional learning experiences around language during the pandemic. Find Sana at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sana-sohoni. In adapting to classroom instruction during the pandemic, each of us was aiming to bring the most important elements - perhaps joy, trust… Continue reading The language of success: using one pandemic inequity as an opportunity for community and learning
let’s talk about privilege
I was raised in an upper middle-class house. By the time that I was in high school, my family had bought and renovated a large house in one of the country’s most affluent suburbs. I went to an extremely expensive and elite private school (that, to its credit, changed my life) because my parents’ work… Continue reading let’s talk about privilege
sruti teaches 