Posts by Jennifer Meka Ratka:

Why do we have to do this?

August 9, 2007 Published by

  My friend, an English teacher, called me to complain at the end of last school year. It was hot, near the end of the year, and the kids were finishing up reading Orwell’s 1984. She’s a great teacher. She had them reading articles about privacy acts, privacy laws, etc. They were searching…

On being prepared

July 25, 2007 Published by

My first year teaching was wonderfully difficult. My mentor was pregnant and had her baby the first week of school; she took the rest of the year off. I was teaching some difficult students, traveling between classrooms, and coaching the varsity cheerleading squad, while also continuing to study for my…

Best Practices

June 12, 2007 Published by

“Best practice” is a term casually thrown around in education today that refers to strategies and approaches that are research-based and proven. However, it seems like “best practice” is changing shape and form, whether it be in a new direction or back toward tried and true ways. Some of the…