Discover how resilience can be a powerful force! In this K12 Teaching Moment, we’ll discuss how the popular Star Wars™ franchise almost went a different route with one of its iconic characters, Yoda. Don’t worry—after much trial and error, they still created the legendary, wise Jedi Master we know and love today. When’s a time you’ve shown resilience? Comment below!

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“I’m bored.” It’s a phrase that regularly comes out of the mouths of students.

But this Toronto teacher has found a solution.

Through a 10-minute “nothing period,” in which students are quiet and seated and able to occupy themselves, Margaret Fong's class has learned how to occupy themselves and their time when they don’t have anything to do. Some have invented games in this free time, or drawn comic books, others have come to relish the opportunity to just breathe. She’s seen this learning have a positive impact on students, and it’s been particularly helpful in her split classroom, keeping one grade occupied while she works with the other.

Here, she explains how she’s put this practice into effect, and offers tips for teachers who’d like to do the same.

Paris Kent, the dance director at Bellaire High School in Houston, has sent her students into physics classes to help students learn about the rotation of an axis through the movement of their bodies, demonstrating how a person’s size impacts the speed of the rotation. It’s just one way Kent works to incorporate dance across the curriculum.

But the methods for utilizing movement are just as plentiful as the reasons for doing so—from giving students an opportunity to share elements of their culture, creating connections between students and their teachers, and increasing student engagement.

Here, Kent shares how teachers can incorporate dance and movement into their classrooms in small, time-effective ways.

The Principal Recovery Network is a club that no school leader wants to join. Yet when its members meet, they greet and joke with each other like family.

“If people saw us together, and if they knew why we gather, they’d think there’s something wrong with us,” quipped Andy McGill, the assistant principal at the rural West Liberty-Salem High School in West Liberty, Ohio.

In 2019, McGill came together with 21 other educators to form the PRN, a support and advocacy group for current and former school leaders who’ve survived and led their schools through the aftermath of a violent incident like a shooting.

Here, some of those school leaders discuss their experiences and their work as part of the PRN.

First lady Jill Biden welcomed the national and state teachers of the year to the White House on Thursday for the first state dinner of its kind.

While traditional state dinners honor visiting heads of state, this one recognized the award-winning teachers—including Missy Testerman, the 2024 National Teacher of the Year and an English-as-a-second-language teacher in Tennessee—for the work they do every day in the classroom. Teachers dressed in ball gowns and tuxes mingled with national leaders, including administration officials and members of Congress.

Take a peek inside the glamorous night, which featured a surprise appearance by President Joe Biden.

Two years ago, a magnet high school for students pursuing careers in education opened in San Antonio.

Here, 10th graders at CAST Teach describe the qualities that make a good teacher, what inspired them to pursue careers in education, and their fears for the future.

Steve Robinson has run a research lab, taught middle and high school, and served as a White House K-12 policy adviser for former President Barack Obama. That circuitous career path has given him a unique perspective on some of the toughest issues in STEM education, including how to find, train, and keep good teachers in those fields.

President-elect Donald Trump ran on a pledge to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. After his election victory, a flood of educators and activists have asked the same question: Can he really do that?

The short answer: It’s possible, but he couldn’t do it alone. Members of Congress would have to approve a plan to reorganize federal agencies, and Trump would face a lot of hurdles in winning their support.

And even if the agency closed, its responsibilities—like administering Title I funding, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and student loans—would be transferred to other federal agencies.

Conservative pledges to shut down the Education Department date back to the presidency of Ronald Reagan, shortly after the agency’s 1979 creation. None have followed through on that promise—so far.

Dandelion Hunt-Smith, a transgender and nonbinary senior at John O’Connell High School in San Francisco, Calif., moved from Georgia last year in search of a more welcoming school environment.

Dandelion says they see great value in school environments that treat all students as human, and where students can feel safe and supported in exploring their gender identity.

As a growing number of legislation targeting LGBTQ students is introduced across the country, families like Dandelion’s are calling on schools to better support future generations.

Difficult news is everywhere recently—climate disasters, refugee crises, and wars are among the devastating headlines. Lacking up-to-date resources and tools to respond to the rush of developments, educators have often been at a loss for how best to navigate these conversations in the classroom, especially around topics that can be charged at every angle.

The most recent event, the latest war between Israel and Hamas, will surely test educators as they try to help their students process their emotions and talk about the complex nature of this conflict. Abby R. Weiss—the chief program officer of Facing History and Ourselves, which provides instructional guidance to educators—offers suggestions for how educators can encourage healthy and helpful discussion in the classroom.

Where should teachers start? By checking in with themselves first, Weiss says. When teachers admit to what they don’t know, the moment can provide an opportunity to share a learning experience with their students.

Dyscalculia is a severe and persistent learning disability in math that affects about 5 to 8 percent of school-age children.

Here, an educator, a researcher, and a student with dyscalculia share their advice and insights for teachers working with students with dyscalculia.

The Supreme Court last week sided with a former high school cheerleader after a profane Snapchat post got her suspended from the team. Here's what the court said and the case's impact on student speech rights.

For students to feel motivated, they must see the work they are doing in the classroom as interesting, valuable, and useful to their present lives. Teachers should consider having lesson plans and discussions about topics prevalent in students’ lives, having students set academic and non-academic goals, and challenging students to write about why what they are learning is relevant.

Coverage of whole-child approaches to learning is supported in part by a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.

As educators prepare for a new school year, state teachers of the year share helpful insights they’ve learned from their experiences with building and managing parent and family relationships.