February | 2014 | Mr J Block

Transformative Teacher Profile

Thanks to Kira Baker-Doyle for publishing this very sweet profile on her blog and for creating this wonderful project. I am honored. Transformative Teacher Profile #6: Joshua Block

Teaching About the Jordan Davis Murder Trial

[This post represents the work of a group of educators and education activists who wanted to help educators help students process the verdict in the Jordan Davis murder trial. Many of us wrote from our experiences both in and out of the classroom, and as such, many of us used “I” statements in talking about […]Read Post ›

Nurturing Collaboration: 5 Strateges

[Cross-posted on Edutopia] When collaboration goes wrong, it can be toxic for learning and classroom culture. We are all familiar with the scene: a group of students that is supposed to be completing a collaborative project has splintered off into dysfunctional factions. Maybe it’s one student who has sullenly separated her- or himself from the […]Read Post ›

Revolutions, Revolutions, Revolutions

My World History classes are in the midst of our unit on revolutions. We just completed a role play on the French and Haitian Revolutions. I love having my students examine ideas of change and possibility as they simultaneously question and problematize the broader definition of a revolution. This week I’m looking forward to seeing […]Read Post ›

Becoming a Good “Studier” Isn’t the Goal

Every day as a teacher overflows with amazing moments of connection, insight, and discovery and so many things that don’t progress as I had intended, interactions that feel incomplete, and situations that I wanted to play out differently. I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the things I want to change and […]Read Post ›