Quitting Teaching, A View From A Former Teacher

In this article Lucas Allen, a former math educator from Illinois writes about his experience quitting teaching and the transition into the corporate world. Why I Left About 18 months ago, I quit teaching for a job in the corporate world. This wasn’t a decision I made lightly. I had been a high school mathematics teacher … Read more

Weekend Reading 6/11/16

Over the past two weeks, I have jumped back into blogging. This week, I jumped back into Twitter (follow @sywtt). There’s some great stuff going on out there in the world of education blogging. Here is a summary of what I found and shared this week. Response: Blended Learning Is ‘the Next Generation of Education’ … Read more

60 Very Practical Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Teaching

While I’ve had my ups and downs over the years as a teacher, my first two years were extremely challenging. Many of these pitfalls were avoidable. If I were going into a middle school band class as a first year teacher today, knowing what I know now, I would approach things differently. Here is an unsorted list that … Read more

New Teacher Survey

A previous version of this article did not include the link to the survey. That has been updated to simplify the process. I’m working on a project. If you are going to be starting your first or second year of teaching and would like to help me out by answering 5 questions for me, please complete this … Read more

Let’s Talk About…Finding A New Teaching Job

Talk amongst yourselves This weekend, let’s discuss finding a new teaching job. It’s summer (in the northern hemisphere) and many of us are out of school. With the summer also comes many newly certified teachers, as well as veterans who are seeking greener pastures. Lots of us are looking, even if we are not seriously considering moving. So … Read more

5 Reasons I Loved Teaching Middle School

This past summer was a whirlwind tour for me and someday I may share a bit about the amazing experiences I had traveling by myself across the country (including three nights stranded in airports, a fourth of July parade in a small town outside of Boston, following my beloved Texas Rangers to Saint Louis, New … Read more

Top 10 Ways To Improvise Your Way to Being A Better Teacher

This summer I made the decision to go on a somewhat extensive tour of a few of the major cities in the Northeast United States. During the process, I reconnected with my friend Nelson, with whom I marched drumcorps 17 years ago. I haven’t seen him in the intervening years and so it as been … Read more

Work from Anywhere, And Touch Other Lives by Teaching English Online

People get into teaching for a variety of reasons, but two of the biggest are the ability it gives you to personally connect with students and continue learning and growing yourself. At first glance, becoming an online ESL teacher might seem like an odd way to do this. How can you connect with people when … Read more

10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My Sanity?

Five years ago, I wrote a series of seven articles called “Questions That Will Save Your Career” that still remain among the most visited articles on this site. When I wrote those, I had successfully completed my 5th year in education. This summer, after 10 years, I am revisiting some of these older concepts. Today, … Read more

10 Years of Teaching: How Do I Keep My School Administration Happy?

Five years ago, I wrote a series of seven articles called “Questions That Will Save Your Career” that still remain among the most visited articles on this site. When I wrote those, I had successfully completed my 5th year in education. This summer, after 10 years, I am revisiting some of these older concepts. Today, … Read more