Creative English Teacher — Old School Meets New School

The Fun They Had I wanted to take a minute to share a quick lesson that went really well in my classroom. Every year I tend to do the same thing on the first day of school—go over the syllabus and play a game based on my classroom rules. This year, however, I decided to add another element to the first day of my sophomore English course. Several months ago, I was flipping through an old textbook, and I discovered a short story I had never read before. (By the way, old textbooks are a treasure trove of teaching ideas, and...

By resisting A.I. and its influence on your students’ communication skills, you are doing your part to protect the future of the human voice. Here's how you do it!

Did you miss Part I? It is here. Every case starts with a mystery–or in our case, a question: Why do we teach writing? Is it because students will need to know how to write in college? So they can get a good job? Or is it something deeper?” The reason I teach writing–and why I enjoy reading my students’ writing–is because it is an expression of their thoughts. It’s a glimpse into their mind. Their soul. When my students write, I can hear their words expressing their ideas. Is it perfect? No, but even when writing is broken and...

I am building an A.I.-resistant classroom. I’ve been told that it’s impossible to completely “A.I.-proof” my classroom, but I accept the challenge to resist it as much as possible. I want my students to use their own thoughts, write their own words, make their own mistakes, and become better human beings in the process.

It’s tough recommending educational reading to teachers. We are busy people. And although a lot of educational books have merit, sometimes reading 200 pages only yields a handful of usable ideas. There is a ton of educational research out there waiting to impact your classroom, but how do you find the time? I’ve often wished there was a way to access it in a concise and practical way. That’s why I was excited when I discovered DistillED, a FREE email newsletter by Australian educator Jamie Clark.