Day 131Politics can be a little tricky in the classroom. I teach fourth-grade but you'd be surprised at just how politically charged ten-year-olds can be especially in today's political classroom. Some might say that politics don't have a place in the classroom. I strongly disagree. Here is the challenging part. Given the historical voting data from the town where I teach, I can safely infer that my politics, generally, don't align all that well with the citizens in town. I have to assume, although it may not be true, that most parents would not appreciate me sharing my values with their kids. I don't. I never have. I won't. It is tricky business but I'm committed to having political conversations in the classroom when kids are curious. My students are curious. I proudly wore my "I voted" sticker on my sweater today. I had to vote this morning when I dropped my son off at the high school because I had a hair appointment after school. Voting is a priority. Getting the grays colored is too, especially the day before parent-teacher conferences begin! Anyway, when my students noticed my sticker, they immediately wanted to know how I voted. I told them that I don't share that information but that we would talk about the election later in the day. I wanted to give myself a little time to think about the conversation. I wanted to proceed thoughtfully. After lunch we gathered for #classroombookaday. I read, She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton. You might be making some kind of crazy inference right now...infer away! After we finished the book and chatted about it a little, I opened up the floor to discuss the election. These were the major points that were made (in no particular order:
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Marie McManus BrighamA public school teacher who gets to wonder alongside fourth-graders. Archives
December 2018
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