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Today, I got a laptop. Not for me. For Aeesha. Let me flash back to about six weeks ago. A team meeting took place around a table in the science classroom, completing the annual discussion about Aeesha’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). In eighth grade, Aeesha still struggles with basic mathematics, with written expression skills and with decoding text. In many ways, she is an elementary school student trapped in a middle school student’s adolescent body.

When students express outrage over the “rape culture” in another country, the teacher brings the discussion closer to home for further exploration.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has declared April Confederate History Month. His original seven-paragraph proclamation was full of paeans to grey-clad heroes but nowhere mentioned the agonies of slavery. This understandably offended African Americans, and McDonnell spent a day or so getting beat up in the media.

Florida representative Kelli Stargel has proposed a bill requiring the state’s teachers to grade parents of children aged kindergarten to third grade. Stargel suggests parents be graded “satisfactory,” “unsatisfactory” or “needs improvement,” based on whether their children arrive at school well-rested, well-fed and on time with homework completed. Her bill also requires regular communication between parents and teachers.

Many students come to school with stories already attached to them. This teacher prefers to hear students’ own stories about themselves.

How to make culturally relevant pedagogy a reality in your classroom.

As the current election cycle reaches its climax, establishing “intellectually safe” communities of inquiry can help mitigate the negative effects the campaign has had on children and classrooms.

During a period of ramped-up online trolling, educators can help their students understand what trolling really is, its impact and how to protect their identities on the internet.