English Teachers Chat

Here at Horace Greeley one of our buildings received a drastic overhaul. Walls were knocked down, glass was put up, and nooks and crannies sprouted in all sorts of new areas. In many ways, it's the difference between the kitchens of yesteryear and the much more sleek open-space designs of today. From the distance, it's sleek. The cubicles, glass walls, and art-deco pop furniture all make the space super inviting. From surveys, students are positive about the space. "There seems to be more of an emphasis on work space," said one. "I feel less anxious in this space," said another. Of course, there were a few caveats, "there's too much furniture." "I'm not always sure where I can go." But one comment really resonated with me, "The space is more modern than the teaching." Yeesh! Of course, that's not a surprise. Even in my approach, I can't say I've evolved with any profundity. I've tried stations a...

Over the last year or so I heard about the potential for using picture books with high school students. I heard the clamor: "They have a place!" But no one could tell me why. Or more importantly: how? This all changed with Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson's The Undefeated  which was on the long list for the National Book Award for Young Adult Literature 2019. For those who haven't read it, the text is describe as "a love letter to America. To black America. To the grit, passion, and perseverance of our greatest artists, athletes, and activists." After reading it, I knew when I started my #OwnVoices unit with my Freshmen, we were going to start use picture books.  Intention: The most important part of choosing a picture book is intention. What do you want students to learn? What do picture books do that regular contemporary, classic and YA texts cannot do? For me, I used two texts, the aforementioned The Undefeated  and Thorn and Grigni's It Feels ...

In our first episode, Daniel Valentin and his special guest Mary Devane talk about the vision, image and excitement around their school's new flexible space. See pictures below of our flexible space: Collaboration is taken to a new level with our glass walls. Fellow teacher Valerie Brunow, utilizing different layouts of L-Space. New shapes. New seating. New ways to think about learning. There are so many ways to configure a single space here in L-Building Daniel Valentin teaches American Wilderness, Ethics, and English 9 at Horace Greeley High School. He is currently reading Pet by Akwaeke Emezi  and listening to Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. He wants his students to feel empowered through books. Follow him  @DaValentinCCSD