contemplating a brave new classroom
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Nobody wants to think of themselves as a racist. And yet, many research studies reveal that we all hold unconscious biases, or hidden racist ideas. When left unchecked, these harmful ideas can perpetuate racist actions and reinforce racist systems. An excellent illustration of this phenomenon is a recent exchange that repeated Clark’s classic 1954 … Continue reading “Nobody wants to be racist (and yet unconscious bias is a real thing)”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Everyday, I step into my school and see pictures of white women on the walls: old-timey white women from the 1850’s when my school was founded, middle-aged white women who are alumni and doing impressive things in the world, scores of white women who graduated in years past. These faces greet me as I walk … Continue reading “Building Equity in the Middle School English Classroom”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Since going back to teaching after having a baby, I’m constantly on the lookout for ways to save time, places to become more efficient, and strategies for better managing my workload. Well this fall, I may have designed my ideal intro-unit to Grade 8 English that I simply cannot keep to myself. “What possibility am … Continue reading “How to Hack Learning Conferences”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Cohort 21 Saved My Life. You don’t hear that every day about professional learning, I’m willing to bet. Sure you might have taken a few tidbits of useful ideas back to your classroom, but actually fundamentally changing the way that you think about teaching and learning is a life-altering experience. I started Cohort 21 in … Continue reading “Cohort 21 Saved My Life”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Does it ever boggle your mind how some students seem to have developed healthy learning habits and yet others perpetually struggle with the basics, like checking their email regularly, cleaning out their backpack, following through on assignments, or showing up for appointments? While I know that the lives of young people are busy, hectic, and … Continue reading “Changing Goals into Habits”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
A few days ago, I posed a question on Facebook about including the fiercely trending Netflix series Thirteen Reason Why on a future course syllabus. When I asked this question to my fellow parents and teachers, I was only on the 7th episode of the series. I thought about how students in my class had read … Continue reading “Thirteen Reasons Why Not”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
Considering happiness in school, to some, might be akin to considering the colour scheme in the building or what flavour of juice is served in the cafeteria: a nice idea, but completely superfluous to the point of education. Sure it might be nice to pick the perfect shade of eggplant purple for the walls, but … Continue reading “Book Review: “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
When thinking about what to write for your teaching practice, it’s natural to think you have to wait until your big aha moments, out of this world insightful observations, or hitting it out of the park lessons to merit writing a blog post. But one of the best parts of Cohort 21, I believe, is … Continue reading “The magic to get your blog on”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
10. Every trip you take, every documentary you watch, every TV show you indulge in has connections to the curriculum you are teaching and you are over the top excited to share these insights with everyone in your class the next day. 9. Sometime around the middle of August you start actually getting excited to … Continue reading “Top Ten Ways You Know You Are An Edu-Nerd”
Written by Celeste Kirsh
“What’s it like to be off from school?” “What do you do all day now that you are not working?” “Do you miss teaching?” “Don’t you just love watching Netflix all day?” Anyone who has taken any time off from their regular career to care for their children might feel the same twinges of … Continue reading “What my baby has taught me about learning”