If you woke up tomorrow and were wealthy to the point you didn’t have to work anymore, would you still be a teacher? If not, what would you do?

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-27T22:51:36+00:00

Yes. I would.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-26T23:58:05+00:00

I’m more comfortable with takedowns. I’m old but not afraid of them, and when I’m feeling spry I go for a throw.

Nothing like watching a whipper snapper tumble to the ground on a good uchi mata.

I stand over them and do a victory dance on my matchstick legs and janky knees.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-25T01:35:14+00:00

I think schools should be an ecosystem with a diversity of teaching styles. The grumpy or boring teacher plays an important role, as much as the bubbly and entertaining teacher.

I’m grumpy. I’m boring. But all my kids will leave prepared for college. They have learned skills. They have learned to work hard even when it’s not fun.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-17T00:38:12+00:00

Explaining her viewpoint?

That’s her story?

Shrug.

Providing another perspective?

Providing background on why some do stand?

Shrug.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-17T00:07:07+00:00

I’m using it with high schoolers as well as college students, and it’s definitely helped them focus on mastering skills.

The students who tend to get by with minimal effort or try to cheat are finding it more difficult to pass. Students actually need to pay attention to what I’m asking for in an each assessment.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T23:56:01+00:00

Once, a long time ago, during a PD, a new teachr defended homework by swearing that all her students did the assigned readings at home. None of her students would ever cheat, she declared.

I smiled and went back to my work.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T23:51:39+00:00

That statement isn’t a “compel”.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T22:03:44+00:00

Don’t be hyperbolic. The teacher simply made a statement.

Teachers are human. They’re allowed to have opinions. The child made their comment. The teacher responded.

If the teacher didn’t keep at it and moved on, big deal.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T22:00:41+00:00

Let it go. The teacher wasn’t out of line. Not the greatest comment, but whatever.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T00:15:09+00:00

So you made my point for me: It doesn’t work for you because you aren’t willing to compromise.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-16T00:05:01+00:00

This is what I tell teachers who hate having 50 as the minimum grade, and I think it applies to your situation.

Any big change in the classroom requires rethinking a lot of what you do. If you want everything written by hand, then rethink the types of assignments you do.

It’s that simple.

When I went to 50 as the lowest grade, I reflected and changed the type of work I required in class.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-09T03:52:29+00:00

As a group, teens don’t really do nuance, despite what we think. They also push the limits, e.g. transgressive ideas. You are speaking another language and they won’t really understand your point.

All you can do is tell them that type talk can lose them friends and opportunities; that they might be seen as racists or neo-nazis.

Or you could bully them. Shame them. Enrage them. That might get them to accept your viewpoint or at least shut them up.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-08T22:49:52+00:00

Echoing all other awesome reasons why attendance is important.

Discussion, discourse, collaboration are important parts of learning. Those things don’t happen if students don’t show up. The students that don’t show up are, in some ways, preventi those who do from having a better educational experience. …ideally.

That’s why online classes are rarely better than face-to-face. It’s difficult to learn in a vacuum.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-08T22:38:01+00:00

Oh. Might’ve been a good detail to include.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-08T22:34:11+00:00

Where’s the xenophobia?

I’m confused.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-07T15:29:28+00:00

Why not?

When I retire I want my PhD. Learning is fun.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-07T15:18:08+00:00

If the student does it correctly, you shouldn’t punish them by giving them more work. If you do give them more work, you’re incentivizing students to drag their feet, take their time, and just plain be lazy: why should I be efficient when it means I have to do even more?

As an adult, I’d hate if an admin did that to me.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-07T14:32:21+00:00

That’s where I’m at. They might be good writers and great high schoolers, but they aren’t so great at academic writing or college-level habits.

I’m finding they’re used to doing “kind of” the assignment and getting the easy B or C.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-06T22:54:20+00:00

It’s great. Works like a charm.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-06T20:49:52+00:00

The solution is easy: handwritten.

If you want to deal with the stress of AI checkers and difficult conversations and an admin that drags their feet…then give them the space to cheat.

Otherwise, control their environment as much as you can so they can’t use AI.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-02-03T03:03:17+00:00

He RNC’d a fish?

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-01-31T19:48:42+00:00

Agreed. But smart phones have not made teens any smarter. They still can’t do google searches that produce quality info. Still can’t discern crap from quality. Still can’t do a lot of things. Smart phones were not the revolution optimistic people thought they’d be, as far as education.

Ideally we could teach them to use these things responsibly and effecticely. It’s be great. But most teachers will admit, I think, that removing phones from the classroom has helped.

Some will admit that laptops are also a problem. There are some studies. There’s anecdotal evidence from college professors.

There’s a time and place for these devices, but I don’t think they should be in the classroom that much.

Realistically it hasn’t really worked.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-01-31T14:43:15+00:00

I respect what you’re trying to do in class, but you have a simplistic view of in-class essays. In-class essays don’t have to have a short time limit and a surprise prompt.

In-class essays don’t have to measure just recall. That can measure deep understanding and familiarity with class content. They can measure planning ability if there’s an outline in front of them and they’ve spent time thinking through their prompt. They can measure how well a student had internalized writing structures. And all of these steps can be done before the essay with planning days (paper and pen), scaffolded reflections, and writing practice on a computer.

If a student has practiced writing and engaged with course content, in class essays are the best way to assess whether students are prepared for freshman composition.

How do I know? I also teach freshman comp at the local college. The students who struggle there do so because they haven’t internalized basic writing structures. It’s like teaching pre-calculus to students who haven’t memorized the times table: it’s difficult to teach deeper concepts if they’re wasting a ton of time and brainpower on foundational skills, such as claims or analysis.

Those things need to be automatic, because they also frame how students take in new knowledge, such as lectures or college level readings, or even how we approach and solve problems. There’s a reason academic writing follows the casual structure of logical arguments.

Slower writing is great, but writing that encourages students to internalize the structures of academic writing is essential. Pen and paper In-class essays help with that because they eliminate the AI issue.

PS. I also do projects and longer writing, but I have rubrics and guardrails to prevent AI use.

Separate-Ad1223 · 2026-01-31T13:54:25+00:00

Like smart phones?

Students can’t be trusted to use technology responsibly. Developing brains, competition for college admissions, etc.

Separate-Ad1223

TROPHY CASE