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Casting educators as saviors undermines the teaching profession—and our students.

This teacher looks forward to a time when teachers have the freedom to be role models for their students.

School and community gardens yield cooperation and understanding.

Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) is a staple of many classrooms. At my school it lives in Advisory, a 50-minute mixed-grade class that balances literacy development with study hall and school-culture building. The goal of SSR is simple: For 30 minutes twice a week the entire school population is reading silently—and enjoying it.

One reason there are so many incidences of anti-gay bullying is a simple lack of understanding. Introducing kids to LGBT topics at an early age, in a comfortable and open environment, rather than allowing them to discover the subject at a later age where they may also pick up prejudicial and inaccurate information can help prevent such violence. This approach can also help LGBT children–or those with LGBT family members—feel safer and more accepted within the classroom.

Last year, our staff adopted the positive discipline approach to replace ineffective no-tolerance policies. Positive discipline is based on the practice of problem-solving instead of punishment. At its core are weekly class meetings, where students work through problems together. At the beginning of the year, teachers “train” students to present problems and offer solutions. Within this process, both teachers and students explore topics such as mutual respect, encouragement and recognizing mistaken goals. One of the biggest challenges is to shift our focus from punishment to solutions.

One young girl's experience on the school bus mirrors problems going on all over the country.

I just started my sixth year teaching high school English. This year began with the same question as always: “How will I empower the young women in my classroom this year?”

What if students created academic experiences that fit their values?

Let’s use some time this summer to rejuvenate and reflect on our classroom practice!