Melissa Swanson

8th grade English teacher at Litchfield Middle School

[George Takei @GeorgeTakei]

When I was a little boy, the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise attack, and thousands of U.S. servicemembers perished. As a nation, we were stunned. And we vowed to strike back. Revenge was understandably on everyone’s mind, including many Americans of Japanese descent who opposed the emperor and were peaceful and law-abiding U.S. citizens and residents.

In its zeal to exact that revenge, however, the U.S. government overreacted, out of fear and bigotry. They targeted everyone who happened to look like the people who had carried out the attack. Those of us who had done nothing wrong were forced to pay the consequences for the decisions of others far away and disconnected from us. We were interned for years, in open-air prisons, while America went off to fight Japan, Germany and Italy.

It’s so important that we carry the lessons of the past through to today. Merely because one group commits atrocities and acts with depravity does not mean vast hundreds of thousands or even millions of others should be lumped together with them and made to suffer. We must never paint with the brush of justice and retaliation too broadly, or the toll of human suffering will rise immeasurably.

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@ModestTeacher I call them Qtips

[Library Girl - See Pinned Tweet @jenniferlagarde]

Surprise! For the last 7 months, @donalynbooks & I have been curating a list of all books pub'd for young ppl that receive ⭐️ reviews from 6 major trade journals. We hope you'll find this resource as useful as we do! That said, currently, only TWO books have received a ⭐️ from...

[Teacher2Teacher @teacher2teacher]

In this #BackToSchool activity from T @MrsPalo, Ss have "15 minutes to find as many things in common with one another and to connect it to an emoji."

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@KatieNovakUDL Can you say more about paired text sets? Would that be in place of the text offered?

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

Great video about how teachers can help students not overload working memory.

[edutopia @edutopia]

Working memory: It's like the brain's sketch pad! And it's crucial for learning. Help your students make the most of this fragile, finite resource.

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

Going to try this next quarter!

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@TeachMrReed Wowww! This school is so lucky to have you!

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@tranewman @attentionfixed Thanks - wondering the same

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@IPSYCare I cannot log into my account and I see many customers complaining about this exact issue. Can you help me with this?

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@LukeEpplin My favorite novel ever

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

Oof. Soooo many connections for our students

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@schwartzalg I get it, but will miss seeing you here!

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

Love this visual

[Carl Ciaramitaro @Carlmciara]

A3 I also think about how you are structuring the group: some small group structures work better for getting something correct while others work better for transfer and independence. #TCRWP

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@schwartzalg So happy for you, Alex!

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@jenniferlagarde @TchKimPossible Ooooooh @MrsScozzafava @MrHarrisLHS @mrssmith_ela7 Sharing is caring! Book club idea, regardless

[Melissa Swanson @HeyMrsSwanson]

@Sesjones @plainy Thank you!