Team Teachers

I have a student that I only see for a half an hour during a time that is half study hall half get to know the treacher time. Yesterday this student told me she has only ever liked/read one book—Wonder. She was born with a cleft lip (and other issues in conjunction) and has had many surgeries. She is a junior in high school and I want her to know that there are more books out there which represent her story.

What books would you recommend? I am completely willing to go out an purchase them for my classroom library.

@weneeddiversebooks

@rjpalacio

Hello Wonderful Tumblrites,

Every year, teachers spend on average $500 on their classroom of their own money.   I know many teachers who spend considerably more.   Each year, I request links to wish lists from the teachers on Tumblr to share; we call it Teachmas.  It is wonderful to have support from all over as we prepare for the new school year.  Please consider purchasing an item, if money is tight, reblogs also help!   Thank you so much!

Positivelypersistentteach teaches Kindergarten in Florida.   Wish list found here.

Girlwithalessonplan teaches high school English and Newspaper in Indiana.  Wish list found here.

Impatienteacher teaches 5th grade in North Carolina.  Wish list found here.

Mrskaaay teaches 7th grade Math in Kentucky.  Wish list found here.

Thebookwormfromkinder teaches Kindergarten in Florida.  Wish list found here.

isaidsothatswhy teaches 9th/Art I & Yearbook in Central Mississippi.  Wish list found here. 

From-tutor-to-teacher teaches 2-5 math resource 3-12 SPED inclusion in Texas.  Wish list found here. 

impeccablyshaved teaches Kindergarten in Atlanta, Ga. Wish list found here. 

offbeatteacher teaches Kindergarten in Southern California.  Wish list found here.

Socially Acceptable Madness teaches 7th and 8th grade (all subjects) in Florida.  Wish list found here.

Bookworm109 teaches 7th grade ELA in Ohio.  Wish list found here.

Teach-center-stage teaches High School Theatre and Musical Theatre in Florida.  Wish list found here.

myfesteringcesspool teaches Kindergarten in Milwaukee, WI.  Wish list found here.

Aperk teaches 10th grade English, Journalism in Kansas.  Wish list found here.

minimarker teaches Middle School Math in Maryland.  Wish list found here.

allmadeofstardust teaches 7th grade Math in South Carolina.  Wish list found here.

Leenzkay teaches 8th grade Science in Mississippi.  Wish list found here.

mamafox18 teaches high school US History in Maine. Wish list found here.

roonilwazlibs79 teaches 3rd grade in Missouri.  Wish list found here.

growthliveshere teaches Middle School ELA in New York.  Wish list found here.

brainvomit teaches Special needs and art classes (K-12) in Arizona. Wish list found here.

adventures in teaching and nerdery teaches Special education (K & 4) in Central IL.   Wish list found here.

macaroni-hexagon teaches 7th and 8th grade math in California.  Wish list found here. 

Grayer teaches 6th Grade Inclusion in New York.  Wish list found here.

Safeaspockets teaches High School English in Massachusetts.  Wish list found here.

lovelikesummer teaches World Geography (9th), Student Leadership (9th), and College Readiness (12th) in Texas.  Wish list found here.

MsPinhey teaches World History, Contemporary Issues, High School 9-12 in Tennessee. Wish list found here.

vwalker teaches 6-8th grade SPED in Minnesota. Wish list found here.

Lugofrombananacountry teaches Middle school Spanish in Maryland. Wish list found here.

messerlyk teaches Gd. 8-12, reading and creative writing at an alternative ed. school in Tennessee.  Wish list found here.

MagicalMissB teaches Middle school humanities (Ancient Civilizations) in  Washington State. Wish list found here.

Sexy-Queen-Mary teaches Social Studies 9-12 in Missouri.  Wish list found here.

lifeinkinder teaches Kindergarten/first grade combo in Illinois. Wish list found here.

Allysowned teaches 9th and 10th English in Massachusetts.  Wish list found here.

Prettyeyesdupree teaches 6th grade reading and social studies in Georgia.  Wish list found here.  

pura-vida8 teaches Spanish - Grades 7 + 8 in New Hampshire.  Wish list found here.

Art and Hart teaches Preschool special education in the Washington DC area.  Wish list found here.

mathematically speaking teaches 6th grade math & computer science in  California.  Wish list found here.

aguilar-teaches teaches 8th Grade Language Arts, English 1 Honors in Florida.   Wish list found here.

Christina-in-Arkansas teaches K/1 Special Education in Arkansas.  Wish list found here.

teacherofthethoughtfullest teaches 10th English II, AP Language & Comp, Humanities in Colorado.  Wish list found here.

mrskcreads teaches 6th Grade Reading and English (writing) in Texas. Wish list found here.

Missfteacheshistory teaches 6 and 8th Grade History in New Jersey. Wish list found here.

MisstoMrsPaula teaches 9th grade English Honors & 9th grade English 1 Through ESOL in Florida.  Wish list found here.

Teaching-Every Day is Different  teaches  11th Grade English, GSA in  Virginia. Wish list found here.

shouseinthehouse teaches 5th and 6th grade reading, writing, and social studies in Indiana.  Wish list found here.

Tokidoki Teacher teaches Kindergarten in Minnesota.  Wish list found here.

frenchspeakingfilipina teaches 1st in Washington State.  Wish list found here.  

WatchAllisonTeach teaches Sophomore English, senior yearbook in  Illinois.  Wish list found here.

JoyAbounds teaches 1st grade in Texas.  Wish list found here.

ummno teaches 10th Grade Government in Maryland. Wish list found here.

kathleendevon teaches 2nd Grade in Texas.  Wish list found here.

elviajedelaesperanza teaches Spanish I & II in Illinois.  Wish list found here.

withmypensandneedles teaches High school (9-12) reading intervention in Missouri.  Wish list found here.

randomrambleramble teaches  Mathematics 9-12 (Algebra I, Geometry, Trigonometry) in Maryland.  Wish list found here.

eisforecfeandendometriosis teaches Preschool in Minnesota.  Wish list found here.

see-mary-teach teaches 6-8 ELA in Arizona.  Wish list found here.

Jenasaurus teaches 6th and 7th grade science, 8th grade advisory in California.  Wish list found here.

chocolatecastleinthesky teaches High School Latin in Tennessee.  Wishlists found here and here.

mrawesomepants teaches History 9 (World History), APUSH, Model UN in Maine. Wish list found here.

manzanas teaches First Grade in California. Wish list found here.

Pablophonic teaches 5th Grade STEM in South Carolina. Wish list found here.

andshewill teaches 8th grade ELA in Massachusetts.  Wish list found here. 

Lotiinside teaches 6th Grade Science in Florida.  Wish list found here.

Fourth Grade Frenzy teaches 4th grade in Maine.  Wish list found here.

ohsnix teaches 9th Grade World History in North Carolina.  Wish list found here.

Read. Write. Repeat. teaches  Speech, Debate, Drama 9-12 in Oklahoma.  Wish list found here.  

hello-delicious-tea teaches 9th-10th ELA in North Carolina.  Wish list found here.

Sempiternalsolstice teaches 6-8 ELA in Tennessee. Wish list found here.

Omniscribe teaches High school English (Etymology, World Lit, Speech and Dual Credit Writing) in Illinois.  Wish list found here.

The-littlelady teaches High school LD (9-12) in South Carolina.  Wish list found here.

Ambedu teaches 6th Grade Literacy and Science in Wisconsin.  Wish list found here.

whiskeyfortheway teaches MS Social Studies (6-8), HS Psychology, HS Current Events in Michigan.  Wish list found here.

samanthainsecondary teaches 9th grade ELA in Maryland.  Wish list found here.

sunshinein17 teaches 5th/6th grade Social Studies and Writing in  Missouri.  Wish list found here.

adventureswithscience teaches 8th Grade Science in Florida.  Wish list found here.

:-)

Hello Tumblr!

Every summer, I ask teachers on Tumblr to submit Classroom Wishlists from Amazon of items they need/want for their classroom.  This year I also included the option to add any additional information.  I’ve included that in this master post along with the Tumblr and Amazon Wishlist Links.  I know that oftentimes people on Tumblr have big hearts but empty pockets.  No fear!  You can help by reblogging this post so that perhaps people with a few spare bucks can help a teacher and class out.  Your small act of reblogging could land a class set of books for a group of Kindergarteners or dry erase markers for a high school science teacher.  Who doeesn’t love new dry erase markers!?

Thank you in advance to each of you that sees this and reblogs or purchases an item.  Not only is it a warm feeling to have some support from out of the blue, it is a great way to help pump us up for the following school year.  Also a big shout out to all of you that support your local schools.

Positivelypersistentteach (aka PPT)’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Pre-K  in Florida. 

Girlwithalessonplan (aka GWALP)’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School English and Newspaper in Indiana. 

Thebookwormfromkinder’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Kindergarten- All Subjects in  Florida.  

Notinthelessonplan’s Amazon wishlist Teaches 7th grade ELA in South Louisiana.  

Missusdoublea’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Special Education - push in, plus split consulting and providing services with the area private schools in Illinois.  

Tattooedteacher’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary School (all subjects) in Georgia.  

Kinseyyyleigh’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Math (pre-alg, Alg I, math skills) in Oklahoma.   

Adventuresinteachingx’s  Amazon wishlist. Teaches General Elementary classes + tech K-8 in  Central Illinois. 

Thinkbrit’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Humanities (Language Arts & Social Studies) in Colorado. 

Lugofrombananacountry’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Spanish in Maryland.  

postitsandpens’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary School - all subjects in  St. Louis, MO. 

chocolatecastleinthesky’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School Latin and Mythology in Tennessee.

eisforecfeandendometriosis’s Amazon wishlist.Teaches Pre-K in  Minnesota. 

Ohfivefifteen’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary Math and Science (Gifted and Talented) in Florida. 

Busy Ms. B’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches General Education gr 4-7 in  British Columbia, Canada. 

smoakyfox’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School English in California. 

aredhat’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Computer Applications in New York. 

MrsKaaay’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Math in Kentucky. 

Jzfs720′s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary Math in Texas. 

mrawesomepants’   Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School  World History, APUSH, Model UN in Maine. 

lindsaaayyy’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary Reading/ELA in Texas. 

General Anxiety’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School  Social Studies and English in Pennsylvania. 

iamstillrunning’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary (all subjects) in Wisconsin. 

Tryingtoteach’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Elementary (all subjects) in the UK. 

Mathematically Speaking’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School  Math and Computer Science in Southern California. 

hemingwhy’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Elementary Math/Science in Texas. 

myfesteringcesspool’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Pre-K in Wisconsin. 

Pablophonic’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 5th grade STEM in South Carolina. 

educacion-mothedri’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Maths, Spanish language, arts, English in  Logroño. 

teachingtheworldtosmile’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School English in California. 

Ambedu’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Language Arts in  Wisconsin. 

Safeaspockets’   Amazon wishlist.  Teaches High School English in  Massachusetts. 

allysowned’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches High School English in Massachusetts.  

Ame ni mo makezu’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary ESOL, ESL in Maryland.  

loseitandleap’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches 5-8 chorus (vocal music) in Tennessee. 

WatchAllisonTeach’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Sophomore English (American Literature, cotaught with American History) in Illinois. 

vwalker’s  Amazon wishlist. Teaches 7th and 8th Grade Special Education in Minnesota. 

teachingandtea’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches 1st Grade in North Carolina. 

Csornig’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Elementary School in Michigan. 

secretliesofmaya’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches High School English I & Intro to Comm and Mass Media in North Carolina. 

manzanas’ Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Elementary School in California. 

citizentezz’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches  ESE K-5 / specialize in teaching children with communication and behavioral issues in Florida. 

Sempiternalsolstice’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School ELA in  West Tennessee. 

belleofbakerstreer221b’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary School -  ELA and Social Studies in Ohio.

okiruinclass’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School English as a Second Language in Tennessee. 

ironxteachergirl’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Pre-K in Michigan.

Andimtheteacher’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Dyslexia/English in Texas.

Missc-vstheworld’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches 7-12th Grades -  English language arts, creative writing, film studies, keyboarding, art in  Eastern Oregon. 

walkwithheroes84′s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School English II and Year Book in Louisiana. 

education-pnw’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School English Language Arts and Drama in Oregon.

aworldclassorganization’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches K-12 Hearing Impaired in North Carolina. 

chopper-two-hopper’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 2nd Grade in Illinois.

getmathed’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School Pre-Calculus and Calculus in California.

Dirtyfrenchpress’ Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School  APUSH, world cultures, Pysch, diversity studies, contemporary issues in Wisconsin.

adventuresinmiddleschoolmusic’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School  Vocal Music & Dance in North Carolina.

isaidsothatswhy’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School Art in Mississippi.

ummno’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School  Government and International Studies in Maryland.

Dream-by-day’s Amazon wishlist.Teaches Middle School ELA in St. Louis.

queeracula’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Kindergarten in Texas.

JoyAbounds’ Amazon wishlist. Teaches 1st Grade in West Texas.

ahshmeeeee-in-neverland’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches High School English in Pennsylvania.

randomrambleramble’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches High School Math in Maryland.

Hey-miss-teacher’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches High School Theatre 1-4 & Musical Theatre in Florida.

Missfteacheshistory’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School History in New Jersey.

veecheck’s Amazon wishlist.Teaches Middle School ELA in Oregon.

I am a teacher- kinda’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School ELA/ Social Studies in  Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

sam-the-destitute’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School in  Social Studies/U.S. History in Ohio.

Magicalmissb’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches 5th Grade in Washington State.

bkmnky’s  Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School English in Northern Michigan.

mrskcreads’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Language Arts in Texas.

macaroni-hexagon’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 7th and 8th Grade Math in California.

thepolkadottedteacher’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 8th Grade ELA in Indiana.

amanda-sleeps-life-away’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary Intensive Special Ed in Colorado

nerdswhoteach’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 5th Grade ELA/Social Studies in the Southeast.

arteandeducacion’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Elementary Art in Florida.

whiskeyfortheway’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Social Studies/Psychology in Michigan.

megbytheminute’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School  Special Education: Science in Bronx, NY. 

Lolobee8288′s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School Special Education in Wisconsin.

Repandrev’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches 1st Grade in Pugent sound.

redfernfrog’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Elementary School in South Carolina.

hrroyalgeekness’ Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School ELA Inclusion in Indiana

Lovely-anomaly’s Amazon wishlist.  Teaches Middle School Earth Science in  Missouri. 

Justwalkthroughmyclassroom’s Amazon wishlist. Teaches Middle School English in Florida.

secondyearteacherdiaries’ Amazon wishlist. Teaches 5th Grade in Virginia.

I’m taking on my school’s yearbook this year and don’t really know what I’m doing.

We publish ours in the spring, and then do a flyer (I think there’s an official term, but can’t remember) with spring things like prom and graduation.

My staff is a class of the non-dual credit seniors. So they don’t really get a choice in being in charge of the yearbook.

Please fill out this form 

I want to do a Hamilton themed classroom this year, but I’m not finding the things I’m looking for.

There are posters all over the place, of course, but what I’m really looking for and have not found is some sort of backing for my bulletin boards. I was hoping that maybe there were some Hamilton bedsheets that I could use, or maybe some vinyl tablecloths, but I’ve had no luck finding these things.

I’m also hoping to find at least one (preferably two) banners that have notable quotes that fit a Language Arts classroom. Mostly quotes about writing, if possible, though I wouldn’t mind having a banner that says “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” Because I want to put some emphasis on students’ individual stories this year if I can. 

Please fill out this form 

Please fill out this form 

As a teacher I generally do not accept the excuse that a particular task is too hard and therefore should be abandoned.

I am not an advocate for giving up.

I do not collect tough texts halfway through reading them and say, “Well, that was taking too long.”

I am not about modelling behaviors that create a culture of quitting.

But, maybe I should reexamine my practice. Because my values do not seem to be those which will make America great again.

I realized this when I read the article “Education Dept. Says It Will Scale Back Civil Rights Investigations” in the New York Times yesterday. See, the article seemed to indicate that the Department of Education, under the leadership of that venerable hero to American schoolchildren,  Betsy DeVos, would not longer be investigating civil rights cases with the same consistency, depth, and thoroughness previously applied to them.

Why?

The mandates issued by the Obama administration required too much work and were slowing things down.

I am not kidding. I went on to read articles in the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, which only bolstered the conviction of this conclusion. The main argument for changing our policy on investigating civil rights violations in schools is that doing so more thoroughly creates a “backlog.”

In other words, once we really delve into this issue it turns out it is a huge problem!

But…

Investigating patterns of injustice takes examination of years of data, and that is time-consuming and costly. So, the new plan? Just don’t do it. Changing the burden of proof in campus sexual assault cases, thereby possibly shifting away from a pervasive culture of campus sexual assault? Costly. Time consuming. Hard. New plan? Don’t do it anymore.

And protecting transgendered kids? Well, they might do it. Maybe. See now, transgender protection will be determined on a case by case basis.

In America.

In 2017.

See, America as it was in some murky past was good enough for white cis billionaires like Ms. DeVos. She has never suffered a civil rights issue in her life, ergo, there cannot really, actually, be that many, so spending money on investigating them is dumb. We could give that money instead to private school vouchers for schools with policies barring gay students or those from gay families. Which is literally what Ms. DeVos wants to do, by the way.

Yeah, I was raised not to be a quitter. I have always tried to instill in my students that something worth doing is worth doing right, and that finding out the truth, no matter how much research it takes, is a valuable pursuit.