Katherine B. Branch

English teacher at THE Northside High School

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@MrZachG I never got paid anything. I've had 5 student teachers.

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@heymrsbond I'm in complete agreement

[TeacherGoals @teachergoals]

Powerful! 🙌

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@susangbarber Best feeling

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

Oh my goodness. Yes.

[Joseph Fasano @Joseph_Fasano_]

A student said he wanted to "go back in time and take Shakespeare's quill so he couldn't write anything. He doesn't speak my language."

I said, "Let's sit down and talk about it."

The student said he was frustrated by his inability to express exactly what was in him, that he could never write any papers or poems or stories he was happy with, that he could never "understand literature."

"Maybe you don't need to start by understanding it," I suggested. "Maybe it already understands you."

The student shook his head. "Nah. They're just words."

"Words, words, words," I said. Then I pointed to where Hamlet says this in frustration.

The student cracked a smile. Together, slowly, we read some more of Hamlet's words:

"I do not know
Why I yet live to say, 'This thing's to do'"

"I have that within which passes show"

"in my heart there was a kind of fighting
That would not let me sleep."

After about fifteen minutes of passing the text back and forth, reading passages aloud, the student looked up and said, "That...that's how I feel."

"Write about that," I said.

His paper, which earned an A+, began, "Shakespeare speaks my language."

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@heymrsbond I think this is why I'm a teacher.

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@MalcolmClayto15 @MichaelClaytonI It was beautiful!

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@susangbarber That's exactly what it's like.

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@coach_thorpe Love it!

[Brian Sztabnik @TalksWTeachers]

If you can have a strong degree of empathy while pushing students to achieve beyond what they thought was possible, you will build strong and lasting connections with students.

[CoachMark Jones04 @CoachMarkJones1]

Now a little Volleyball!!!

[CoachMark Jones04 @CoachMarkJones1]

A little JV Football Action!! It’s Great to Be A Northside Eagle!!!

[Monte Syrie @MonteSyrie]

Thank you, @edutopia. Here’s to another year (28) of learning kids.
#Project180
@codebreakeredu

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

Very good advice and a good metaphor.

[Katherine B. Branch @Kat_Branch]

@MonteSyrie Always me.

[emily may @emilykmay]

“Don’t coddle your kids, the world is brutal.” You’re correct, the world can be absolutely brutal, but HOME SHOULD NOT BE.

Your children will be better equipped to deal with an unkind world when they know their home is safe.

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

You can tell a lot about a school's culture by walking through a school. Observe the office staff, custodians & staff/faculty in the hall, their demeanor & interactions with other staff & students. You can't fake a dynamic school culture. It is palpable!

[SageOnTheStage @sage_stage]

#SageAdvice Some people will go above and beyond on their own. Don't over burden them with micromanagement. Many people won't do a thing more than meet your minimum expectations. And that means the minimum of what you will actually hold them to.