by Trevor Barton | Oct 28, 2021 | Opinion
Interactive reading is one way I engage my fourth graders in learning about new people and places. Recently, we’ve used this approach with books by Malala Yousafzai and Jane Goodall. “Have you heard of Malala?” I asked my students when introducing them to her book...
by Trevor Barton | Sep 29, 2021 | Opinion
I’m reading a book. This is no easy task for an elementary school teacher. Since the first day of school, my brain tightly shuts by 8 p.m. and my eyes by 9 p.m. This book, though, is for my heart. What elementary school teacher (or any kind of teacher) doesn’t need a...
by Trevor Barton | Feb 15, 2021 | Opinion
Alex Kotlowitz is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. He wrote a remarkable book in 1992 titled There Are No Children Here: The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in the Other America. It’s the story of Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, 11- and 9-year-old brothers...
by Trevor Barton | Mar 31, 2020 | Opinion
I woke at my normal time – 6:15 a.m. – on March 18. I drove to school on my normal route. I walked through the front doors of the school with my normal smile on my face and hope in my heart. That’s where my normal turned into “lamron” – backwards normal – where up...
by Trevor Barton | Feb 27, 2020 | Opinion
Experiencing homelessness was a topic of conversation in my elementary school classroom several years ago. This has been on my mind lately; it means as much now as it did then. My students had questions about the central character in the story, “Fly Away Home,”...
