Starr Sackstein, MJE, NBCT

This is the back of the shirt they made in my honor – the “create” and “imagine” are my wrist tattoos. WJPS is where I work

It’s all about our intention – why we choose to do what we do in the classroom determines everything. From the second the kids enter the classroom, until the second they leave and everything in between, what we plan for the students makes a difference.

As teachers, it is our obligation to make the shared learning time meaningful and equally as important is making sure the children understand why they are learning what they do.

Here are some tips for making most of shared intentions: Read more »

My students were shocked when I pulled this one out. Not used to teachers asking them to disagree responsibly. My opinion is just one in the sea of voices that should not always be shared.

…We can all complete that analogy in a bunch of different ways, but I’m going to leave it with this: opinions are developed over time because of an understanding of a particular topic and values we have been taught.

Opinions come from all places.

Children often learn their opinions from people they respect… As teachers, this puts us in an awkward and/or delicate position knowing we have the power to influence impressionable minds.

Most teachers I know have strong opinions about a plethora of things. Educated people develop philosophies and ideals that quench their own thirst for knowing. We read it, it sticks, it mixes with other things we’ve experienced and we develop a visceral, intimate feeling about a variety of topics. Read more »

The staff at WJPS is close for the most part. Two of my best friends, I met while working here.

Personalities shouldn’t play a role in how we treat the people we work with, but they do.

Let’s face it, teaching at a high school in many ways mimics being in high school: petty judgments, cliques, popular teachers vs unpopular ones; we can’t allow this to happen if we want a successful school environment.

Teachers must model for students the way to behave and communicate as adults and that means putting personalities and egos aside to work together better as a staff  to aspire to the most collegial atmosphere which means we all share responsibility for the school’s culture and climate.

Here are some helpful tips for supporting a collegial community: Read more »

Rows of single desks have been set up for the administration of exams, the empty seats hold possibilities. Students have only one shot to show what they know. If they don’t keep up all year, the ratio of success is greatly diminished.

Kids hate taking them and let’s face it, teachers hate proctoring them.  Testing brings out the worst in most of us.

With the current educational climate,  increased security and widespread paranoia, teachers are subjected to hours of proctoring (at least at my school) without anything to keep their brains from atrophy.

Today, I spent 4 1/2 hours in an extended time room with some of our special needs students taking Regents.  Understanding that these are important tests and there are protocols to following, I did my best to be present and alert for the whole time (admittedly looked forward to my 2 bathroom breaks so I cruise the halls for 10 minutes and check my cell phone.) Read more »