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Opinion
Education Opinion

The 10 Most-Read Opinions of 2023

What were readers drawn to this year?
December 21, 2023 2 min read
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As the year comes to a close, take a look back at some of the most popular opinion blog posts and essays of 2023. Pieces documenting the pressure teachers face and reading instruction seemed to particularly appeal to readers this year.

Revisit these essays and discover new perspectives you might have missed.

1. Teachers Aren’t Burnt Out. They Are Being Set Up to Fail

Female adult standing on toppling dominoes.

Instead of scapegoating teachers, let’s look at the real causes of workplace stress and demoralization, writes best-selling author and teacher Alexandra Robbins.

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2. What People Are Getting Wrong About the Science of 69´«Ã½

Illustration of a toy letter block is placed under a microscope. In the background there are waves of colorful textures and a swirl of movement.

No one will win the reading wars. It’s time to look at the research and call a truce over the appropriate use of phonics, write reading specialists Brooke Wilkins and Lauren McNamara.

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3. I Quit Teaching for Ed Tech. Here’s How It Turned Out

Illustration of a professional woman at the door opening to a bright exterior with computer code in the air.

Before you leave the teaching profession for another career, here are some things to consider from Amma Ababio.

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4. I Combed Through 81 Studies on School Discipline. Here’s What Educators Need to Know

Illustration of dark hallway with Office Room Light at the end

School discipline researcher Richard O. Welsh offers evidence-based considerations for closing discipline disparities in schools.

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5. The 4 Gifts Principals Should Give Teachers This Year (Hint: Not Another School Mug)

A Large yellow bow across the foreground of a  photo illustration group of teachers line up happily closely together along a wall

Instead of a staff pizza party or a school-branded mug, Sharif El-Mekki suggests giving them meaningful gifts that really nourish their craft in this principal advice column.

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6. I Used to Think I Was a Fair Grader. Now, I Look Back and Cringe

Illustration of letter grades and a thumbs down.

Now a researcher studying grading practices, former teacher Sarah Ruth Morris reflects on what she wishes she had known about equitable grading.

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7. A Focus on Phonics or Comprehension? What 69´«Ã½ Research Should Look Like in Practice

Illustration of boy juggling books and letters.

Children do need phonics instruction. But it should happen in the context of real reading, write researchers Elena Forzani and Andrea Bien.

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8. How to Fix Classroom Misbehavior

What can I do when a student keeps misbehaving?

An insight from the science of habit can make all the difference between continued misbehavior and good conduct, writes Asaf Mazar.

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9. ‘You Work for Us': How a Student’s Slight Captures the Disrespect Teachers Face

Opinion illustration of teachers and students, about job perceptions.

Compare the treatment of teachers with other public servants and you’ll notice a disturbing trend, writes teacher Jherine Wilkerson.

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10. Stop Trying to Recruit Black Teachers Until You Can Retain the Ones You Have

Illustration of a beat up school desk with worn out, vandalized, and broken school supplies, onto which a pair of hands place a shiny new black teacher figure.

69´«Ã½ are desperate to recruit Black teachers, writes Bettina L. Love. But do they know how to support them and value their work?

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See Also

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Teaching Opinion The Most-Read Opinion Essays of 2022
December 28, 2022
1 min read

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