Disruption in Education: It’s a good thing, and it’s more than a buzzword

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This post was originally published in International Literacy Association's Literacy Today magazine. Google defines disruption as a “disturbance or problems that interrupt an event, activity, or process”. We need to look at disruption as a concept to use and implement in education, not as a problem, but as a strategy to formulate solutions to current … Continue reading Disruption in Education: It’s a good thing, and it’s more than a buzzword

Resources to Teach about The #MuslimBan

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Many educators are often afraid of discussing "controversial" issues in the classroom. The word "controversial" here puts a shroud on many relevant topics, such as politics, daily events, history, social justice issues, equality, and many others. What are you so afraid of? Having a healthy debate in the classroom? shouldn't students be exposed to different … Continue reading Resources to Teach about The #MuslimBan

Create a Safe Space for Students to be Heard: A Workshop

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The week before elections, I was invited to speak to The Hun School of Princeton students in New Jersey about the concepts of Grit and Resilience. The Hun School works to read 1 or 2 common books each year and have a conference about the theme of the books. This is such a neat way … Continue reading Create a Safe Space for Students to be Heard: A Workshop

Literacy Beyond Reading & Writing

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This post was originally published on The Writing Project. When we hear the word “literacy” immediately some of the things that come to mind are: books, reading, writing, libraries, and maybe even magazines, newspapers. But we all know that’s not what encompasses literacy. Literacy moves beyond reading and writing. It includes the process of deciphering … Continue reading Literacy Beyond Reading & Writing

From Education to Entrepreneurship

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Leaving something that you have done for so can be a very challenging thing to do. There is a lot of initial denial, grief, and heartache. But it can also be a very rewarding step that you take to a new beginning. Many years ago, I wanted to become a teacher not because I loved … Continue reading From Education to Entrepreneurship

How to Support Students in these Difficult Times

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The world woke up on November 9 to the news that Donald Trump is America's next president. This is a nightmare to everyone who has been insulted and assaulted by Trump and his supporters. It's a nightmare to Black people, Muslims, LGBTQI communities, women of colour, immigrants, Mexicans, and many marginalized groups who have been … Continue reading How to Support Students in these Difficult Times

Global Storytelling: How it can impact students

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When I was in grade 6, we had a social justice activist visit our classroom from South Africa. He shared his story of being part of the movement against the apartheid, how he was imprisoned, and the massive impact the apartheid had on his family, his country, his people. I remember listening very intently to … Continue reading Global Storytelling: How it can impact students

Planting a Seed – Our Project on the Refugee Crisis

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Pernille’s class did a unit on the refugee crisis, and I was honoured to share my story with 3 of her classes. I love the process that she did to guide her students through the topic. By having students debate, discuss and ask questions about a topic that’s causing a great deal of discussion, outrage, and intolerance is so important to help students see and understand the urgency of the situation. Please have a read and I hope this Pernille’s lesson inspires you to start the conversation with your students.

Pernille Ripp

I grew up in a home that had a newspaper on our table every morning. Laid out for us kids to see, we grabbed the comics first, then the Danish news. I was a teen when I started reading the international news. Being aware of the world was something that was expected of us, after all, Denmark is a small nation. We read the paper, we listened to the radio, we watched the news. Not always fully attuned but always aware of at least some of the bigger things happening in the world beyond our own.

Being a globally aware and invested teacher is something I have tried to live and breathe for many years now. After all, the Global Read Aloud was created with the idea of making the world not only smaller, but also more interconnected to create more empathy and kindness. My students have therefore in varying…

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Who Am I? Help Students Explore Their Identity

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This post was originally published for Annenberg Learner foundation. Being an English language learner, in middle school, was a really difficult experience. I had many questions about my identity, and who I was as an individual. This was a result of the language shift, but a culture shift played a huge role in this complex … Continue reading Who Am I? Help Students Explore Their Identity

Higher Education is Pushing More Professors into Poverty

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016 ~ Rusul Alrubail ~ 16 Comments

The summer of 2014 I received a phone call that would forever alter my career as an English professor. The chair of my department called me to tell me that the college will be getting rid of contract faculty starting January 2015. Of course, I was a contract faculty there. My heart dropped. My mind … Continue reading Higher Education is Pushing More Professors into Poverty