Teaching History with Mrs. Byars

Did you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year? If you did, you watched history. For the first time in the history of the parade, there was a same-sex kiss. It happened at the end of the performance from the cast of The Prom and it left me wanting to shout with joy from the rooftops . I went straight to instagram to share my thoughts but realized I have a lot more to say about this moment and this show. When you work with young people every day, you work to make sure each of them feels loved, valued, and supported. But often times it is not you that they feel the lack of love from, it is our society as a whole. When young people don't see themselves in the culture around them they feel like they don't belong, so that simple kiss at the end of a Broadway musical number on the family-friendly nationally-televised Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade meant something. It was like a giant taffeta and glitter covered billboard saying "YOU BELONG." A...

I've spent the past few years reading everything I could about grading practices. I have been so lucky to be supported by my admin team as I have tried new things in my classroom and now that I have a few years under my belt I have even had the chance to start helping others find the best practices for them.  When I help teachers who are considering new practices, I always start with a list of favorite books but the reality is most of us don't have the time or energy to dive into a book unless we know it is really going to help us. With grading practices that means knowing enough about grade reform practices to know if it is the right time for you to make a change and little of what those changes might look like.  Because of this, I decided to put together a list of some of my favorite articles that might help you determine if it's time to dig deeper and learn more. Articles on why teachers have changed their practices and how to determine if you are read...