aricum! retweeted
A teacher at my school came into my room after dismissal yesterday and showed me an email she received (summarized with her permission, student’s name has been changed):
Counselor: Johnny’s parents are concerned because he’s only failing your class. Any idea why?
Teacher: Attaches detailed phone log of conversations with parents sharing her concerns about the student sleeping in class and playing games on his Chromebook instead of working. Teacher also shares the 2 office referrals for cheating which resulted in zeros for test grades.
Counselor: We’re going to allow him to retake the 2 tests he cheated on. Additionally, please make arrangements with the student to attend your after school tutorials and re-teach the lessons so he can make up the additional work he is missing.
She didn’t even reply. She’s genuinely considering not coming back after Thanksgiving break.
aricum! retweeted
Controversial opinion:
Higher ed would be drastically improved by adopting:
1. Strict absence and tardy policy
2. No tolerance for late and/or incomplete work
3. Dress code (business casual)
4. No phones, no laptops, and no tablets in the classroom
aricum! retweeted
Which district is going to be brave enough to do this first?
aricum! retweeted
I gotta be honest
I think a lot of English teachers dislike Shakespeare because they themselves barely understand it
aricum! retweeted
I am convinced you could replace every PD day with a teacher work day and it would be ten times more productive.
aricum! retweeted
Parents - beware this is rapidly spreading throughout the nation. No matter what your child’s grades are, please take time to make certain they actually know the course content. The two no longer correlate.
Here's detail on #SFUSD Grading for #Equity plan briefly discussed @ tonite's #school board meeting. Coming to 14 high schools in August. Homework, attendance not counted toward academic grade.
Scrutiny needed. thevoicesf.org/grading-for-e… @SFParents @TheVOSF @garrytan @incitafusio
aricum! retweeted
How about we stop with placating students and parents who claim learning causes anxiety. It doesn’t. What causes anxiety is sitting in a class with 25 classmates and not knowing anything about what is being taught. Now that’s scary.
Timed practice does not cause math anxiety. Not knowing facts does. We unpack myths and share what actually helps kids. Give this a listen.
@brian_poncy @rastokke @StamStam193 @bamradionetwork bamradionetwork.com/track/un… #TEACHers #math
aricum! retweeted
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲?
It’s not bodies.
It’s the willingness to stay in a profession where expectations keep rising and support keeps dropping.
aricum! retweeted
New study finds education research is out of touch w/the needs of teachers:
Equity, social justice, & identity appeared 2x the frequency of any other area in American Educational Research Association meetings
But teachers’ top concerns were far more practical, like student behavior and discipline…
The few discussions tackling discipline focused on restorative justice, which places greater burdens on teachers
thehill.com/opinion/educatio…
aricum! retweeted
It amazes me that in 2025, in the richest country in the world with some of the smartest people in the world, that we still cannot teach math well in our public schools.
What went wrong with math instruction in New York? A must-read piece, by Ben Solomon. educationprogress.org/p/what…
aricum! retweeted
What if…and hear me out… we focus on learning and teach our children that learning is not entertainment. It’s hard work as it should be.
aricum! retweeted
I’ve never seen a poor reader in middle and high school not have at least ten options to improve their reading skills. Everything from tutoring, support classes, community literacy services, free summer programs, etc are available. By 6th grade if the child isn’t going to show some initiative or the parent is not forcing the child to practice, the trauma becomes self-inflicted. Obviously there are exceptions for disabled students.
aricum! retweeted
We have over complicated learning because there’s no money to made from simplicity.
aricum! retweeted
10 edu-terms for the dumpster fire:
1-Culturally responsive pedagogy
2-Trauma informed pedagogy
3-Life long learner
4-Learning styles
5-Math anxiety
6-Math trauma
7-Critical thinking skills
8-Restorative justice
9-Whole child learning
10-Other ways of knowing
What did I miss?
aricum! retweeted
Pick up a random newspaper from 1920 and you’ll think you’re reading Cicero. The vocabulary, rhythm, and depth were worlds above what passes for “educated” speech today. We’ve become a civilization that can code, but can’t write a sentence worth remembering.
aricum! retweeted
“In 2015, researchers at the University of Sussex in England asked a group of 20 English teachers in Year 8, the U.S. equivalent of 7th grade, to change their practice for 12 weeks. During that period, they would read two novels back to back, with all of the reading done in class—a much faster pace than these students, who usually read two books over the course of a year, were used to.
At the end of the 12 weeks, average reading comprehension for all students—as measured by a standardized test—improved by the equivalent of 8.5 months of regular instruction. The effect nearly doubled for struggling readers, who made 16 months improvement during that period.”
@s_e_schwartz explores the issue of books disappearing from US curriculum.
Including evidence like this study, in favor of work with whole books.
aricum! retweeted
A student said they really like my teaching style.
I asked how they would sum it up, and she said, “You know—strict, but cool.”
That will forever be how I describe myself when people ask what kind of teacher I am.