Shapshots from the end of a school year that just… faded away
I began writing this piece in early June, when I had already met with about a third of my students for their final one-on-one meetings, in which we reflect on the year that was and talk about what they might do next. I’ve been doing this for 9 years now; it’s old hat. And yet, I kept feeling like I wasn’t doing my students justice this semester when our meetings were virtual and our connections were digital. …
A Blog Post for the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
This piece was originally published on April 28, 2021.
A Blog Post for McGraw Hill
When we provide students with opportunities to explore their outside environment in concert with their inner world, they are able to discover new life skills and hone existing ones in a context with fewer distractions and barriers.
This piece was originally published on April 21, 2021.
A Blog Post for McGraw Hill
Each school, no matter how much concrete and asphalt surrounds it, has some patch of outdoor space that could be utilized by a creative, adventurous teacher.
This piece was originally published on November 19, 2019.
A Blog Post for McGraw-Hill
The songs of robins and red-winged blackbirds, the green shoots poking through the dirt, and certainly the later sunsets all help me to remember that this, too, shall pass, and that at some point I will be back in the classroom with my students.
This piece was originally published on April 15, 2020.
A Blog Post for McGraw-Hill
The bedrock underlying everything we do at school is, in a word, relationships. This remains true whether we are in the same room together or interacting exclusively through our screens.
This piece was originally published on August 17, 2020.
A Blog Post for McGraw-Hill
Face-to-face learning is demonstrably better for most students, but it’s also much less safe than remote learning. Remote learning is a safe alternative, but it’s inequitable, especially in rural school districts like mine. Parents need to work, and kids need to eat. Every answer brings more questions.
This piece was originally published on November 30, 2020.
Note: I’m participating in the 2020–21 Math Equity Project, and one of our first tasks was to introduce ourselves with a “Storientation” giving the rest of the cohort and idea of who we are as a person, teacher, and mathematician. This is mine. (For more on the importance of storytelling in classroom culture, see this Edutopia post.)
Hi! I’m Skylar L. Primm, and though I’ve lived in Madison, Wisconsin since 2003, a bit of my heart will always be in my hometown of New Orleans, where I was born, grew up, and attended college. I was the only child in…
Wrapping Up the 2018–20 Teacher Inquiry & Writing Institute
Well. That did not go the way I expected it to. I actually thought that by May I would have not only a solid definition of humane assessment to share with the world, but also a series of beautiful anecdotes of how humane assessment was playing out in my classroom. The hugs and the high fives! The authentic assessments through on-stage presentations! The sample reflections where you can clearly see just how much more human this year made them all feel!
Yeah, no. My expectations were not met. So, what can I draw from a truncated year of humane assessment…
Musings on the Unusual End of the 2019–20 School Year
The week before schools were shut down, my co-teacher Amanda and I co-led a field experience for the first time in… several years, at least. I introduced students to Nature’s Notebook, a community science tool for monitoring and reporting on phenological changes. Amanda led a poetry writing marathon, based around the theme of unwanted creatures. It was brilliant. Several students said it was their favorite field day of the year.
At the time, the leaf buds on the on-campus trees we observed were just shy of bursting, there was still some ice on the lake at John Muir Memorial County…
Skylar L. Primm (he/him)
Cultivating students’ power, nurturing students’ joy, celebrating students’ humanity. 🧡🌱 skylarprimm.com highmarq.org
