Here is the letter I sent to FLDOE and district leadership regarding the chastising email sent to Polk County teachers threatening their jobs if they took their approved personal days to attend the Rally on Monday 1/13/2020 to make their voice heard the day before the legislative session begins on 1/14/2020. In education, we are…
December 3, 2019 If you are a teacher that is buried in work and have so much to do that you fear you won’t see your winter break this year, then this is for you! Read on to find out how to catch up and get ahead before Winter Break starts. If you are like…
(or any other career you are in that is NOT about the money) September 29, 2019 If you pay attention to education at all, you’ve probably heard that teachers are not paid a fair wage for the job that they do, and I’m not here to get into the politics, taxes and arguments on it….
September 22, 2019 Kids these days catch a lot of flak for how easy they have it compared to prior generations. If you’ve spent even an hour in the presence of a kid recently, you will realize that they handle a lot, and most of them do it surprisingly well. They have had so much…
September 16, 2019 This week I did something I never wanted to do as a teacher mom—I freaked out over my 3rd grader’s benchmark test score. I straight up panicked. He scored fine on the math test, but his reading test was low, and has been in a steady decline since he started school. I…
September 7, 2019 Like most moms, I seldom prioritize my own needs over those of my family’s until I reach a breaking point. Due to unplanned circumstances, our family ended up moving into a home that was twice the size of what we were living in and my mom moved in with us. It worked…
Sonya Barnes August 25, 2019 Have you ever travelled someplace that you didn’t know the language? I have and it can be a very intimidating experience. I recall times of hand gestures, broken words from the language I do know, and looking for another language we may coincidentally know to try and communicate, only for…
August 17, 2019 If you ask most people, they hate the idea of uniforms. It’s expensive and it doesn’t allow for individuality or personal expression are a few of the reasons given. But, if you stop and think about it, uniformity is quite practical. Many powerful world leaders say that they have adopted a uniform…
Sonya Barnes August 9, 2019 Our world today is filled with people struggling. Our classrooms will also reflect that with students facing many struggles in their lives—some privately, some publicly. Some of our students will have been taught how to help others, some will know what it is what they want to have people do…
Sonya Barnes August 8, 2019 Teachers are a resourceful being. To make a pop reference, we become as good at reinventing our repertoire as Prince did at reinventing himself throughout his career. We have many things we have continued to use without really thinking about changing them up. One of those go-to items could be…
