Reading, Writing, Teaching, and Living Tools for Impassioned People
It's all about the connections.
To My Fellow Teachers:
When you're in college, you're taught it's all about the curriculum. When you get your first job, you realize it's all about classroom management. When you get your groove, though, you understand the truth.
Teaching can be difficult, and if you're any good at this profession, you spend a lot of time thinking and overthinking what you're doing. You question whether you're giving your kids everything you can. Will they even remember what you're teaching them? When searching for answers to these questions, I am always reminded by this quote from one of my favorites, Maya Angelou:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
My name is Addison Sadler, and I teach secondary language arts. Since becoming a teacher in 2013, I've dedicated my preps, evenings, and summers to finding and/ or creating meaningful curriculum to share with my students. I use current events, popular songs, and controversial documentaries to impel my students to develop their perceptions of the world and become active members within it.
With that said, I also know that good, solid teaching is built upon a foundation of trust, humor, critical thinking, and fun. My methods have proven successful; all of my English students experienced growth in their reading skills while I taught them, even breaking school records for standardized test performances. I also remain in close contact with many previous students, as I think I will always feel connected to them.
I recently left a Minnesota school after four years with the district. The 2019 graduating seniors had me for English 9, English 10, and English 12, and many of them worked with me in speech and student council. On their last Friday of school, the whole class came into my room and surprised me with this amazing video:
I created this website to provide educators resources to ignite meaningful learning while making personal connections with students. Some of these materials may be controversial in nature; please use your own discretion when choosing instructional materials. The best educators first consider their audience when trying new lessons! With that said, please use any materials I have posted and tailor them to your own classroom.
Happy browsing! :)