Literate Voices Media Coverage

Book Launch in India Television Interview in the Bay Area Beyond the Fields Release- Sanger Left to right: Jyothi Bathina, Seth Gardner, Aaron Galbraith and Stacy Lazzari (Photo contributed) Published: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:23 AM PDTSanger Herald A wonderful project is nearing completion at a local school in Sanger. The students at Fairmont SchoolContinue reading “Literate Voices Media Coverage”

Classroom Management 101: Relevance

I’ve said this many times in many ways but I believe it bears repeating. The inescapable truth is that students don’t care for content the way teachers care for content. That is, they aren’t exhilarated by the thought of a perfectly formed sentence or a flawless mathematical proof. They don’t find excitement in uncovering aContinue reading “Classroom Management 101: Relevance”

Classroom Management 101: Respect

How is it that we expect to command respect from a group of strangers who have never met us, know nothing about us, and very often want nothing to do with us or our content? And yet, teachers everywhere walk into classrooms on that first day, read out a syllabus and a list of rules,Continue reading “Classroom Management 101: Respect”

Classroom Management 101: Being Human

Yesterday as I was wrapping up a class on content literacy writing strategies, one of my credential students raised his hand. I was in a great mood, having waxed eloquent on ways to build writing into the curriculum and had them all practice implementing the strategies in their content area groups. It had been aContinue reading “Classroom Management 101: Being Human”

Writing From the Heart

My latest paper in Ed Leadership Text Version Writing from the Heart   Challenged by a classroom full of silent, angry, and disengaged students, a teacher makes a promise and ignites student learning.   Jyothi Bathina When I was hired to teach at-risk students in the poverty-stricken, gang-infested former murder capital of East Palo Alto,Continue reading “Writing From the Heart”

The Secret Hook: Reeling Students In

Dwayne. He was my most memorable student in the South Bronx high school where I taught freshman and junior English nearly a decade ago.  He was one of those kids that doesn’t fight you, doesn’t resist, doesn’t participate, just puts his head down on the desk and doesn’t lift it up again till the bellContinue reading “The Secret Hook: Reeling Students In”