Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I remember the first time I questioned whether a student paper was actually theirs. In an age before advanced plagiarism checkers, a colleague suggested that I Google a key phrase from the paper. I put the phrase in quotation […]
Sarah Styf
Sarah Styf is a 19-year high school English teacher. She lives in the Indianapolis area with her husband and two children. She is passionate about literacy, education reform, and increasing civic engagement.
Posted inMental Health
Teachers and Students Need More Mental Breaks
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I’m sitting down to write this piece on the last official day of my fall break. Tomorrow will be the weekend rush to make sure that the house is ready for my kids and me to return to our […]
Posted inOpinion
Make Voter Registration a Priority at Your High School
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Every two to four years, we hear about the need to register young people to vote. Pundits bemoan the low turnout numbers that we see from 18 to 25-year-olds. Experts hypothesize about why they do not choose to exercise […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Jump Start Student Writing with Google Docs
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! As a young teacher, I spent a lot of time bemoaning the fact that my students didn’t follow even the smallest instructions. I told them how to format their papers using careful MLA guidelines, and they would turn in […]
Posted inOpinion
First Year Teachers: Step Away from Influencer Culture
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! I was a lot like Janine from Abbott Elementary during my first few years of teaching. I was idealistic, energetic, and full of ideas for my classroom and school. I ran myself ragged trying to be everything to everyone […]
Posted inOpinion
No, I’m Not Moving to Teach in a Blue State
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! “If you don’t like it, just leave.” We have heard this sentiment a lot in the last decade or so for reasons ranging from politics to jobs to natural disasters. Recently this has been the online response to some […]
Posted inOpinion
The Best Summer PD? A Trip to a National Park
Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! It was a cold December night in the west Texas desert. Our family bundled up in coats, hats, and gloves and walked in the dark along the red-lit pathway to the back of the Big Bend National Park visitor […]
Posted inOpinion
No, Teaching Cannot Be Your Only Passion
Why Every Great Teacher Needs a Hobby Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism! Nothing makes me feel like I have accomplished less in my 40+ years than giving my high school students a brief biography of Mark Twain’s life. When I realize just how much […]