Gadfly on the Wall: Teaching in Pennsylvania’s Unconstitutional School Funding System Gadfly on the Wall: Teaching in Pennsylvania’s Unconstitutional School Funding System t’s hard not to wonder about things in my new basement classroom. I kill what bugs I can, wipe away the damp from the desks and try to think over the rattling hum of the ancient overhead heating and cooling system. The room is about 1/3 smaller th…

Gadfly on the Wall: If You Don’t Want Teachers to be Saviors, Don’t Put Them on a Cross Gadfly on the Wall: If You Don’t Want Teachers to be Saviors, Don’t Put Them on a Cross At the end of the school year, I like to show my 8th grade students the movie “Freedom Writers.”  t’s a good culminating film for the class because many of the subjects and texts we read are mentioned by the characters – “The Diary of Anne Fran…

Gadfly on the Wall: The Hidden Bias Against Male Teachers Gadfly on the Wall: The Hidden Bias Against Male Teachers No one wants to be the disciplinarian. Not at the expense of being a teacher. Often you need to do the one so you can do the other. After all, it’s difficult to teach a class that can’t listen or sit or refrain from arguing. But that’s the role men are often given in the fie…

Gadfly on the Wall: Student Projects Are Better Than Tests Gadfly on the Wall: Student Projects Are Better Than Tests The class was silent.  Students were hunched over their desks writing on paper, looking in books, consulting planners.   I stood among them ready to help but surprised at the change that had overcome them.   Maybe 10 minutes before I had heard groans, complaints and the kin…