(This is a guest post by Chad Alderman, NYC dad and the creator of ReadNotGuess.com, a program that sends short email lessons to help parents support and monitor their child’s early reading progress.) My 3rd grade son was reading to me recently when he came to the word “gargoyle.” Except he didn’t read it correctly.… Continue reading Is Your Child Learning To Read – Or To Guess?
(This is a guest post by J.F. (Jenny) Fox, a mother, author, school book committee chairperson, and library advocate. She lives in New York City, where her sons attend public school in Brooklyn. Her books include Friday Night Wrestlefest (Roaring Brook) and the Head-to-Head History series (Kids Can Press). Her website is: jffox.com. Twitter: @bookishfox.… Continue reading School Librarians Are Critical to Students’ Literacy: Why There Should Be One in Every NYC Public School!
As soon as New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his $635 million dollar Academic Recovery Plan, focusing on early literacy, increasing digital access, college and career counseling, bolstering special education programs, building a new universal curriculum and expanding emotional support, supporters and detractors leapt in with follow-up questions. This isn’t surprising as, like… Continue reading What Mayor Eric Adams Might Mean For NYC Schools
(This is a guest post by M. Baranski, a parent in the NYC public school system.) The DOE’s movement spearheaded by the school chancellor Carranza and encouraged by the Mayor is trying to completely undermine our already barely functioning educational system by eliminating the concept of “education” and merit based achievement from DOE’s agenda. Carranza,… Continue reading NYC Parent Rails Against “DOE Attack on Literacy in New York City’s Public Schools”
I’d planned to write about the literacy for this week’s blog post, but I could not do that in good conscience without acknowledging a literary genius who affected my life so greatly: Dr. Toni Morrison. Where do I begin? When I found out that she died, I immediately thought of my professor, Dr. Hedda Marcus… Continue reading An Ode to Toni Morrison — And How Teachers Can Continue Her Legacy.
Summer is here and I’m exhausted. Teaching, while extremely rewarding, is equally as draining — sometimes more so. Every year, it becomes more and more apparent to me that a huge part of why I’m so exhausted has to do with the shortage of parental involvement in their children’s / my students’ academic lives. Dear… Continue reading Dear Parents: Your Expectations Of Teachers Should Match Your Commitment As A Parent.
“Museums are boring!” And, “at least we get to go to the park for lunch.” These are the refrains I have heard over the years from students before going on a field trip to a museum. While the middle school where I teach is in Manhattan and most of the students reside there, many have… Continue reading Day At The Museum? This Teacher Turns Boredom To Excitement
In addition to being a middle and high school English teacher, I’m also a certified literacy specialist. In my eyes, reading and writing are the cornerstone to every aspect of education and to life. Literacy is especially important for Black and Brown children who often lag behind their White counterparts in reading and writing. According… Continue reading The Community That Reads Together Succeeds Together!
