Teacher Talk
How to Keep Kids Off Their Phones While Homeschooling
By: Scott Wilson | Sep 2, 2026
The most reliable way to keep kids off their phones while homeschooling is to agree on a spot where the phone goes during schoolwork, out of reach and out of sight. Set a clear return point, keep the work surface phone-free, and switch off notifications before the session starts.
Teachers have been working on this problem for a long time. Now it's your kitchen table.
Eyes down ...
Best Podcast Episodes for Educators: 12 Picks from 2020-21
By: Brian Miller | Aug 19, 2020
The best podcast episodes for educators aren't always from education podcasts. Written ahead of the 2020-21 school year, this collection gathers ten episodes plus two bonus picks from shows like Invisibilia, The Moth, and 99% Invisible, chosen by a school leader for what they teach about respect, grief, and honest ...
Augmentative and Alternative Communication is Giving Non-Verbal Students a Voice in Mainstream Classrooms
By: Mary McLaughlin | Aug 17, 2020
How Integrating a Means of Communication Can Benefit Social and Academic Development for Special Needs Students
Within the next few weeks, students are expected to return to classrooms across America. With the Covid-19 pandemic leaving everybody scrambling for remote learning and teaching solutions just as the school year was coming to ...
Why Education Is Slow to Change: Lessons from Atari’s Collapse
By: Brian Miller | Jun 11, 2020
Ask why education is slow to change and much of the answer is structural. Bureaucratic rules reward compliance, accountability pressure raises the cost of a failed experiment, and leaders often move on before reforms mature. Structural barriers can play a major role, alongside individual attitudes and habits. "If I was going ...
How to End the School Year Strong: Bedside Manners and Battle Cries
By: Teacher.org Editorial Staff | May 13, 2020
Ending the school year strong comes down to how you treat people in the final weeks, not how much you accomplish. Stay patient and connect on a human level even when you're exhausted, and give your staff and students a shared rallying point to aim for. Research on the peak-end ...
What the CARES Act Actually Did for K-12 Schools
By: Teacher.org Editorial Staff | Apr 20, 2020
The CARES Act, signed in March 2020, sent about $13.2 billion directly to K-12 schools through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, plus $3 billion in governor-directed relief. It also waived several ESSA testing and Title I requirements. Congress followed with two more rounds of school funding before ...
Taking Time Off From Teaching Without the Guilt
By: Mary McLaughlin | Mar 10, 2020
Taking time off from teaching is not a failure of commitment. Whether you can use banked sick or personal days, and for what, depends on your contract, district policy, and applicable law. Plan the absence ahead, leave clear substitute plans, and treat the break as maintenance on the teacher your ...
Dealing With Difficult Students: 9 Reasons to Give “That” Kid Attention
By: Jon Konen | Mar 5, 2020
Dealing with difficult students starts with reading the behavior instead of removing the child. Persistent behavior can have many contributing factors, so look for patterns and individual needs rather than assuming a cause. Building the relationship, modeling missing skills, and sharing the load with colleagues keeps that student in class. You ...
8 Reasons Why Blogging Can Support Your Growth as an Educator
By: Jon Konen | Feb 14, 2020
The benefits of blogging for teachers show up in three places: your own writing gets better, your reflection gets sharper, and your students see an adult who revises instead of quitting. You don't need a platform or an audience to start. A paragraph a day, three times a week, is ...
Teaching in Montana: 10 Reasons to Move and What Licensure Takes
By: Jon Konen | Jan 30, 2020
Teaching in Montana means small districts, long distances, and a licensure process you apply for directly. The Office of Public Instruction doesn't automatically transfer another state's license, but it does evaluate your out-of-state credentials toward Montana licensure. Pay runs below national medians, and projected employment is flat through 2034. Why not ...
Unfunded Mandates in Education: The Zugzwang Zigzag
By: Jon Konen | Jan 22, 2020
An unfunded mandate in education is a law or regulation requiring schools to provide a program or service without the money to pay for it. Special education is the most-cited case of an underfunded federal mandate. IDEA set a maximum federal contribution of 40% of the national average per-pupil spending, ...