The Myth of the Super Teacher
I prepared for my first teaching gig undaunted by my lack of experience. After all, I had a literature degree from a prestigious liberal arts school, I had been mostly… Read more The Myth of the Super Teacher →
Nothing Compares to Being a First-Year Teacher
“A student urinated on my floor when I was out in the hallway. On a day I was absent, students jettisoned textbooks and graded papers out my second-story classroom window. A computer monitor was smashed on my floor after a rage-filled overhead toss. I witnessed a basketball player punch another student in the face before school, stay in class all day, and then suit up for the afternoon’s game. No consequences.” When I reread the following essay I wrote over eight years ago about my first-year teaching in 2004-2005, I’m… Read more Nothing Compares to Being a First-Year Teacher →
Paul Barnwell 