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Story Corner

In more than 20 years of teaching students ranging from as young as 12 to as old as 70, I have found one thing to be verifiably true: Humor positively impacts the learning environment.

Relying too heavily on labels blinds us to exceptions, individuality and uniqueness.

Minnesota youth and elders turn life histories into song.

I hear it now and then. It invariably comes after a long day in an elementary school classroom, a day that seems like a year. "If I didn't have [student’s name], I could teach my class!" You know the children who fill in the blank. They're the ones who stand when you ask them to sit, talk when you ask for silence and play when you need them to work. Marvin is one of those children. He is 9 years old.

For National Poetry Month, we departed from our typical prose-only style to present this special Why I Teach column.

Twenty-eight teachers in my master’s level class silently moved en masse to the right side of the room to signify that they would teach the civil rights movement to their elementary students. In fact, most considered it negligent to ignore this historic movement that brought about the end of segregation in our country.