Lots of people saying it right now. Here’s blogger Beth Shaum saying it cogently in a post on her site, Use Your Outside Voice.  Happily, she includes a brief portrait of an outstanding classroom for adults. Then there are a string of comments responding to the blog post, “Why Teachers Should Educate the Public About […]

I’ve posted a lovely piece by special education teacher Catherine Clarke, a teacher who found a way to reach a struggling student when it seemed impossible. Instead of simply punishing negative behavior, she found a way to resolve it. Please read it on the Evanston website of Patch.com . Let’s celebrate wonderful tales like this, […]

So there are more and more voices calling for teacher voice to be heard by the public and policy-makers. The latest is blogger K Michelle McGlothen in an ASCD post today. I’m heartened to hear more people urging this. What troubles me, though, is that just us advocates saying it should happen doesn’t necessarily make […]

Thank goodness I’m not alone trying to get teachers writing about their work for the larger community. Peter Smagorinsky, at the University of Georgia, provides another voice urging teachers to speak out. Visit the website “Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care” to read his suggestions on getting your words out there. Peter describes how he […]

Dear Friends and Followers– The TEDx event I organized, which took place Sept. 28, was so much work that I had to just let some things go for a couple of months until it was over. Then I skipped town for a few weeks to rest up. And now at last Teachers Speak Up is […]

Yeah, I’ve been working away on planning for the TEDxWellsStreetED event in Chicago, scheduled for Sept. 28, so it’s been quiet here at Teachers Speak Up. But I saw yet another great Atlanta teacher portrayed by Peter Smagorinsky in the Atlanta Journal Constitution blog hosted by reporter Maureen Downey. So please read about Atlanta teacher […]

Perhaps you’ve noticed that I’ve been writing fewer posts lately. The reason: I’ve been a little busy leading a team to organize a TEDx talks event. TEDxWellsStreetED on Teacher Voice is coming Sept 28 in Chicago. Our theme: “Exploring Teacher Voice Beyond the Classroom.” Our purpose: This event will feature a wide range of speakers […]

So the blogger Eduwonk has noticed that more teacher voices are making themselves heard — through advocacy groups like Educators 4 Excellence. You or I might not agree with all of the stands that they take, but these are teachers speaking up, 7500 in all, in Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New York. They form teams […]

I’m back after summer travel & work with our Illinois Writing Project Summer Leadership Institute — to find lots of news on the Teachers Speak Up front. Here’s just one item for people to keep on their radar: another educator who promotes teacher voice — teacher/blogger Lillie Marshall proposes to form a “teacher PR corps.” […]

On May 4, 2013, Barnard College hosted a conference titled, Reclaiming the Conversation on Education at which a series of outspoken educators (and one outspoken student!) addressed the concerns that policies, funding, and testing are undermining effective teaching and learning in schools. Groups and events like this are developing with greater and greater frequency, now. […]