What teachers are being asked to do has changed The Salem Witch Trials were a dark time in America’s history, where societal problems were festering like untended wounds and rather than working to heal society, the finger-pointing and accusations caught fire and raced through towns in Massachusetts. It’s no wonder…

School Shootings and Other Absurdities — Yesterday, 19 elementary children and a teacher were shot and killed. Can you imagine? When I was a 12th grade English teacher, I used to use the book, The Stranger by Albert Camus, in my class. It was one of a handful of books with dark themes about the underbelly…

How do I know? I’m a teacher and I use it on myself all the time. This morning, I woke up in a strange mood. I’d had a bunch of dreams about the past — things I’d loved (a lamb sandwich I ate when I was a teenager living in…

By Cindy Shapiro Universal preschool has a triumphant ring to it — finally, society is stepping up to set kids on an auspicious path in life. Here in Colorado, our governor, Jared Polis, recently crowed about the passage of a bill in our state that will guarantee all four year-olds…

What made me change my mind: my own kids I am a teacher of 20 years. I am also a mom of two. And recently, I changed my mind: the kids need homework. I’ve switched sides a handful of times on this issue — before I had kids, I used…

I’m Not the Same Person I Was — I’ve always had problems with seeing myself for who I am. Yes, I recognized my image in the mirror, but an eating disorder, body distortion, and a lack of self-love as a teenager and young adult led to a skewed image. It wasn’t until I hit 40 that I started…

Two failed drugs tests yielded very different results. Where was the compassion for Sha’Carri Richardson when she needed it? — In recent days, the news broke that Olympic figure skating star, Kamila Valieva, failed a drug test for a heart medication. Rather than ban her from competing, the Olympic committee has decided to allow her to retain her gold medal for Russia for the team competition and to allow her…

If Maus goes, what’s next? — 1000 students. That’s the number I estimate read Maus I and Maus II in my English classes when I was in the classroom. The recent news that a rural school board in Tennessee decided to ban Maus by Art Spiegelman struck me to the core — I’ve read the books…

Ask Them What Their Word of the Year for 2022 Is — This weekend, as we are all shaking off the holidays, teachers are steeling themselves as they prepare to head into the second half of the 2021–2022 school year. …