The Notebook

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Bio

I came to Philadelphia by way of Teach For America and am originally from St. Louis, MO. I am in my fourth year of teaching in Philadelphia and I would not want to live anywhere else or do anything else.

My beliefs about teaching and learning have been largely informed by past teachers of my own as well as the teachers and lessons I have met by being a part of the Philadelphia Writing Project.

I am particularly interested in discussing issues such as teacher sustenance and the high school dropout rate. I am passionate about urban education and love talking about the issues that matter to me most, so I’m looking forward to having an open dialogue on my blog.

Recent Blog Entries

More by Molly Thacker

Corrective Reading raising questions

Submitted by Molly Thacker on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 18:15 | Permalink

I think if you asked them, most teachers would say that in addition to having their students excel in their studies, they would hope that they also feel empowered. In our daily interactions with students and in our lesson planning, we attempt to validate students’ experiences, affirm their identities and build trust in order to forge authentic relationships that allow us to teach them well.

Do we fall short some days? Absolutely. But the intent and the purpose of making real connections with students so that they can make real connections with their learning is there. Lately, I have been grappling with finding the intent and purpose behind the Corrective Reading initiative taking place in classrooms all across our city.

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EduCon 2.2 reflection

Submitted by Molly Thacker on Tue, 02/02/2010 - 11:23 Posted in Class notes | Permalink

EduCon 2.2, presented by Science Leadership Academy, promised to be more than just a conference, and it delivered.

The notion of being talked with, not at, was only one departure I found from other conferences I have attended. Another major difference I noticed is how free my hands were. At typical English teacher conferences I am used to having my hands full of papers and pamphlets, books and of course, the ubiquitous tote bag. At EduCon, much of the conversation was paperless and taking place on live streams and Twitter feeds.

I walked away from EduCon 2.2 with my mind swirling with ideas about how to improve my teaching and create more meaning in my classes – pretty good for a snowy Saturday afternoon.

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EduCon 2.2 This Weekend

Submitted by Molly Thacker on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 14:44 Posted in Class notes | Permalink

I can't think of a better - or more necessary - time than late January to generate discussion, ideas, creativity, collaboration, and energy around issues of education. Which is I am so looking forward to attending the EduCon 2.2 conference this weekend hosted by Science Leadership Academy.

Check back after the weekend for a recap of events and to continue the conversation!

Note: The event is sold out, but there is a wait list and an option to "attend digitally."

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Better development

Submitted by Molly Thacker on Fri, 11/06/2009 - 17:47 | Permalink

When reading over some comments made by teachers on the Notebook blog regarding the full day professional development offered this past Tuesday, I found that some pretty potent words were used. In fact, if the commentary on the November 3rd PD were a Twitter feed, in which teachers could give instantaneous feedback in 140 characters or less, it would read something like this:

"mind numbing"

"a waste of taxpayers' dollars"

“a catastrophe”

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Teen violence: Chicago incident prompts moving from conversation to action

Submitted by Molly Thacker on Tue, 10/13/2009 - 23:37 Posted in Class notes | Permalink

I’m sure by now everyone has heard about the tragic incident of the high school student in Chicago who was killed a few weeks ago.

And I’m sure by now everyone has probably stopped talking about him. It seems to be the way it goes.

Jon and Kate’s latest scandal? You’ll be able to find instant updates daily. The brutal beating of a sixteen year old honor student? The story dissipates after the first few headlines.

I first heard about the murder from a student of mine, who brought the issue into the classroom as her chosen topic for weekly discussions we conduct. The student did a great job finding an article for students to read and respond to on our class blog. She also facilitated an engaging, critical conversation around teen violence and bullying, intersecting with issues of race.

Although we did end the discussion on a note of action, thinking about ways we can address violence here in Philadelphia and at our school, our class discussion seemed almost futile in the sense that we were trying to explain an inexplicable occurrence.