Why Educator Help

"Literacy" is the new buzzword in education.  Although we are all expected to teach literacy skills and develop students reading and writing, not all educators have been trained to do so.  This, therefore, creates an increase of pressure on teachers who are required to teach content, while simultaneously developing students’ literacy skills.  For some, this might be an easy task, however, for others it is a daunting undertaking.  Not only are educators being asked to teach literacy skills, even though they have never being trained to do so, their students are taking exams that do not only test their content knowledge, but also their ability to read and write about the specific content.  Some students are able to memorize and learn content easily, and if you have a discussion about it with them they can effortlessly explain to you how the absolute rulers Louis XIV and Peter the Great are different than William and Mary of England or the elements of the Periodic Table.  However, the moment you ask them to read a complex text about the subject, they hit a mental roadblock and are unable to absorb the information or explain their understand in writing.  This is not OK.  Students should be able to learn information in a variety of ways, and teachers should be able to tailor and scaffold the ways by which they learn the information so that students can access and understand a complex text.

This is the reason the site, www.educatorhelp.com was created, to provide educators with free resources for teaching literacy.  Each of us are required to teach literacy alongside our content, and unless you have been trained to do so, chances are you learned like me; by gathering resources throughout the internet, reading books, talking with other educators and attending professional developments.  We are teachers, but we are also perpetual students; we will always be learning and figuring out new ways to assist our students in order to help them succeed.          

Educator Help will assist teachers in identifying and developing literacy activities that are aligned to the Common Core and that also focus on certain skills that all students should master.  As the website grows, we encourage educators to upload their own resources or lessons that they have developed in order improve the practice of all teachers.