The History Teacher


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TalkingPoints

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Talking Points is a free communication tool allowing teachers to quickly message students' families throughout the day. The free application can be downloaded onto iPhone or Android phones (and managed through a computer). If someone does not have a smartphone, fear not! The teacher's communication is sent as a standard text message as well.  Its primary purpose is to give teachers a quick and direct way to connect with their students' family (assuming you have their mobile number). How is this any different than texting or emailing, you ask? This is where Talking Points stands apart from other apps I've used for family-school communication:  IT AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATES THE TEACHER'S MESSAGE INTO THE FAMILY'S HOME LANGUAGE.  The individual who receives the message can then respond in the native language , send the message, and it will appear in the teacher's language of choice. As the education field continues to change, I feel tha...
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Fired Up Fourth Graders (Oh, What Fun!)

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"Beyond Pink and Blue: Fourth graders get fired up about Pottery Barn's gender stereotypes"  by Robin Cooley Upon initially reading the title for this article, I thought that it would momentarily touch on the way commercial stores and other forms of media relegate specific colors to specific genders. I did not expect, however, the author to take the reader along with her students and her as they began to challenge the basic gender stereotypes present in society. As I flipped towards the article, I found myself wondering, "What could Cooley have to add and supplement to this discussion?" Since high school, I have been aware of the conversations individuals everywhere are having about raising gender neutral children, starting while the children are still even in the womb by not selecting stereotypical gender colors (by which I mean pink for a girl, blue for a boy). Many people had broached this topic before, but I had not heard anything additive that woul...
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At the Center of Me...

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I remember entering undergrad, sure of why I wanted to become a teacher, but as time progressed and I became more experienced with teaching and pedagogy, I slowly began to lose sight of my initial beliefs about learning, teaching, and the world we are in. However, as I dove head first into developing my Pecha Kucha narrative, I unearthed those beliefs once again. My three core beliefs about learning, teaching, and the world: I believe learning is derived out of an individual's experiences that he or she can engage with topics being taught in class. I believe that learning happens when individuals feel safe in the environment they are in surrounded by people of diverse experiences and backgrounds because it is from diverse experiences that we can really learn. I believe true learning occurs when we are able to set aside our preconceived notions of a topic and learn from others.  I believe teaching occurs through open dialogue, that adults and children alike can teach one...
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