IREAD-3 is a test Indiana third graders take to assess students’ reading abilities. In 2021, a little over 80% of 3rd graders passed the test despite educational interruptions in prior years due to the pandemic. This school year, schools were given the option to have their 2nd graders take the assessment. Although some people might…
Central Library’s entry has famous writers’ names engraved into the limestone. I was not shocked to learn that the majority of those names consisted of white males. In an effort to diversify the engraved names, the Indianapolis Public Library added ten Black authors’ names. The 300 suggested additions were narrowed down to ten authors. I…
The goal of school is to educate children to help them have the foundational skills they need to pursue a career and become productive members of society. When I was a kid, I remember career days and the opportunity to learn about various professions. I also had the opportunity to complete reports about jobs I…
I am the mom of identical twin sons who are currently in fifth grade. Next year, they will be in 6th grade and will be attending middle school. For the majority of my education career, I have been a middle school English teacher. Middle school is a special place. It is the time when hormones…
For whatever reason, students seem to be the least consulted source for bullying in this country. Think about a time you saw a news story or a documentary about bullying. Who did it feature? Probably some adults. School administrators, district leaders, law enforcement, “experts,” and maybe even some parents, but most of the time you…
When my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m., I turned off the alarm on my phone and went to social media to see who had won an oscar. I valued my sleep over watching the 94th Academy Awards. I immediately noticed Will Smith was trending. My first thought was, “He got his first Oscar; it…
If you are a parent, you know that a school break can lead to complaining. Your children may complain even if you take them on a trip that you had to save up for a year by putting away a percentage of each paycheck. A top complaint from our children is that they are bored….
“The number one rule in my family: honor your parents. They’re the supreme beings who gave you life who sweated and sacrificed so much to put a roof over your head, food on your plate … an epic amount of food. The least you can do in return is every single thing they ask, of…
Over the last year or so school board meetings have become an unlikely battleground for partisan politics. Understandably a lot of people are not happy about that, especially those who feel like the politics being pushed don’t align with their own. It’s easy to sympathize with that sentiment; however, it is important to remember one…
One resource you expect to find in schools is books. Books are used to inform, persuade, or entertain. Textbooks fall into the category of informing students with the necessary knowledge to learn concepts. For the most part, textbooks are not the center of controversy. Instead, the focus has been on children’s books, novels, and informative…