By Peg Grafwallner, Instr. Coach & Reading Specialist, Milwaukee,WI: When children are small, they unabashedly refer to themselves with creative descriptions like writer, artist, singer, scientist, mathematician, etc. They haven’t been jaded, yet, by an educational system that relies on standardized test scores and district assessments...
By Shawna Easton, Secondary Section, Prosper, TX: Even after 13 years of teaching, students continue to astound me each year. When I approached the idea of goal setting with my students, I was surprised at their reaction. I thought it would be something like, “Ugh, why...
By Kayla Roush, Secondary Section, Harrisburg, PA: I currently work in a school filled with diverse students who live in the inner city. Their lives are tough—much tougher than mine will ever be. Sometimes my students go hungry, and sometimes they act out because they want...
By Abigail Crane, Secondary Section, Overland Park, KS: One of the beautiful aspects of our profession as educators is that every year we get to press a “restart” button and try again. We can do everything from scratch, or cherry-pick the best lessons and units from...
By Lorraine Cella, Secondary Section, Tenafly, NJ: It was 1966 and my 9th-grade year began in a suburban town in northern New Jersey. I strolled to school carrying my small assignment pad, which I needed for writing notes—the kind between friends in the hallway during change...
By Cathy Leogrande, Teacher Education K-12 & Special Ed, Syracuse, NY: When I was a high school Special Education teacher, I went to a difficult CSE meeting. The parent was not in agreement with the district plan for her son. As she got up to walk...
By Julia Peacock, 9-10th Grade English Teacher, Spring Arbor, MI: When I decided to become a teacher, I believed it was about me changing the lives of students. What I've learned – what has been so unexpected – is that my students have changed my life!...
By Kevin Cordi, College Section, Columbus, OH: "J" came to an afterschool storytelling meeting. We were there simply to tell stories for and with each other. He shared that he came to the meeting because his storyteller was no longer at home. His father had left...
By Dominic Pioter, Secondary Section, St. Louis, MO: Looking into Jeremy’s 16-year-old face, I poured my 21-year-old soul into the role of a lifetime. In my oversized shirt and ink-stained tie, I was giving an Oscar-worthy performance of the eager young English teacher who defies all...
By Lakisha Odlum, Middle Section Lead Ambassador, Jamaica, NY: I remember the moment that I truly realized the importance of reading aloud and audiobooks in the classroom. I was teaching struggling readers in middle school and I really wanted them to read Laurie Halse Anderson's Chains...
By Shyanne DeBaker, Secondary ELA, Orem, UT: As a student teacher, I wanted to change the world. I thought teaching would be easy, because I knew it was my calling in this life. My first day of student teaching, nothing major happened—very typical introductions, learning the...
By Nicole Mirra, English Education, College Lead Ambassador, Brooklyn, NY: When I was a high school English teacher, I knew I was making an impact. I didn’t always know the nature or extent of that impact, but I knew that I was making one. This knowledge...