I haven’t written a blog post in almost two years. My very first blog post was on June 23, 2019; between then and August 14, 2019, I wrote a total of 12. At that point, I had finished my 25th year of teaching and had a lot of topics on which I wanted to reflect, … Continue reading The Pandemic- The Worst Best Professional Development
Author: blambert00
I have been a high school English teacher at Grafton High School in Central Massachusetts since 1994. Currently, I teach college preparatory sophomores and seniors. Previously, I have taught Freshman English, Freshman Study Skills, Sophomore Writing and Speech and Advanced Placement Literature and Composition (2002-2017).
In addition to teaching, I have served as English Department Head (1998-2009), Class Advisor(Class of 1998 ), Founder and Advisor to the Cultural Enrichment Club(1998-2008), and GHS No Stomach For Cancer Walk Advisor (2012-2017). I have also served on many committees including NEASC Accreditation Steering Committee. >
The Power of Taking a Risk
Even though I spend a lot of the summer doing school work, I make a deliberate effort to stay away from school for the summer. Two days ago, I returned to my classroom for the first time since June 13th, our last day of school. I was meeting with some other department members to review … Continue reading The Power of Taking a Risk
When We Lose a Colleague
While this initially may seem like a depressing topic to write about heading into a new school year, I actually think it is an important one to think about as we head back to school. Of course, it is sad and difficult when anyone dies. Even if we did not know someone personally, as humans … Continue reading When We Lose a Colleague
Giving Purposeful Homework Assignments
The word “homework” tends to evoke negative emotions for anyone associated with it-- students, parents, and even teachers. Students don’t like it because it often feels like a waste of time and like “busy work". It takes time and energy when they would rather be working at a job, playing a sport, or doing something … Continue reading Giving Purposeful Homework Assignments
Thirteen Hours…..
Today I am grateful that it is still summer vacation...... not because there is much I still need or want to do before the new school year begins, though that is true, but rather because of El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio …. Today I am grateful that I am not in school, because… …..I … Continue reading Thirteen Hours…..
Helping Students Learn Good Study, Organizational, and Note Taking Skills in Your Content Area
Shortly after I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in English in 1990 and teaching jobs were hard to find, I worked as a substitute teacher at Foxborough High School, where I had done my student teaching the previous spring. One day, I was approached by the head of the Special Education Department, Roberta, who encouraged me … Continue reading Helping Students Learn Good Study, Organizational, and Note Taking Skills in Your Content Area
Why Teachers Need Summer Vacation
I remember early on in my education classes in college…. The professor asked why we chose teaching as a career. I can still picture the woman who responded, “June, July, and August.” I remember chuckling but then realizing quickly that she meant it. She was serious. Without a doubt, it is nice - and I … Continue reading Why Teachers Need Summer Vacation
Seemingly Insignificant Details You Might Overlook When Creating an Assignment
When we create assignments-a project, an essay, a quiz, a homework assignment, we focus on the content we are teaching and which standards we are addressing or assessing…. Those are at the heart of the assignment, the most important parts….. With that said, we often overlook the importance of seemingly little details…..how we write the … Continue reading Seemingly Insignificant Details You Might Overlook When Creating an Assignment
Why I am Writing a Blog about Teaching
We might not knowingly think of the specific terms purpose and audience when we sit down to write something, but the odds are high that we have thought about them. Writing, in its simplest terms, boils down to 1. why we are writing and 2. for whom. A grocery list scribbled on a scrap piece … Continue reading Why I am Writing a Blog about Teaching
The Joy of Creating Assignments
I remember a few years ago when I was working in my classroom one day after school. There was a substitute custodian who was in emptying the waste baskets and we started talking. He asked me how long I had been teaching. “Twenty years,” I told him. “It must not take you long to do … Continue reading The Joy of Creating Assignments
25 Years of Teaching and Counting... 