American Federation of Teachers New Jersey, AFL-CIO

President Joe Biden on Sept. 13 signed an executive order to advance educational equity, excellence and economic opportunity for Hispanics.

Hispanic and Latino students, Biden wrote, “face systemic inequitable barriers in accessing a high-quality education and a fair shot at the American dream.” He goes on to cite such stats as “only 40 percent of Latino children participate in preschool education programs” (with whites at 53 percent) and “only 19 percent of Latino adults have at least a bachelor’s degree compared with 1 in 3 overall, and just 6 percent have completed graduate or professional degree programs, versus 13 percent nationally.”…

After the successful implementation of a digital storytelling unit during the most recent school year, Connecticut high school teacher Kimberly Hellerich says digital storytelling “has a permanent place in my classroom.”

“As we return to class, digital storytelling can give students access to different interpretations of an art form and enable them to explore the concept of empathy through literature, art and music,” Hellerich writes for Edutopia.…

Providing support for teen and tween students can be a challenging task, “particularly for new teachers,” writes Tennessee high school math teacher Ty’ara Jones.

“The classroom should be a safe haven where students feel comfortable no matter their level of proficiency,” she writes for Edutopia. “It’s essential that educators build appropriate and trustworthy relationships with students, so that they’ll develop a passion for learning.”…

According to Mike Chapman, a former instructor with the Cadet Corps Leadership Program at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., “the greatest opportunity that the pandemic provided was the opportunity to teach — and learn — outside.”

“For example, at my school, we were fortunate enough to teach all of our classes outdoors for most of this past year,” he writes for Edutopia. …

There’s an element of risk involved when an educator shares classroom ownership with students, writes special education teacher Rachel Jorgensen for Edutopia.

“Teachers must let go of the expert role and understand that students do best when they have the opportunity to take part in meaning-making,” she writes. “Strategies such as co-created notes offer a structured approach to collaborative learning in the classroom, inviting students to work with their teacher to construct meaning from content knowledge.”…

Sharing photos of pets and expressing a range of emotions are ways in which teachers can be themselves at school and in the process “enhance the learning environment and improve our overall job satisfaction,” writes longtime Houston educator Crystal Frommert for Edutopia.

Read her full teaching strategies column here.