Today, you don’t have to search very far to see bullying occur. Whether in the news, social media, professional settings or in a school environment, bullying has become more common in all areas of society. By definition, bullying is the unwanted, aggressive form of behaviors and threats to intimidate others repeatedly. Bullying has always existed in school environments among children. However, now more than ever is bullying prevalent and a growing issue educators and teachers are looking to improve.

As Roald Dahl’s Title character Matilda soon found, the library is a place of learning, discovery and wonder. Every child deserves full access to a well stocked library. LIbraries are essential for all communities, and especially important for low income areas where they can provide families with their only access to technology, literature and community services.

Parents agree, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found 94% of parents say that libraries are important for children.

When children first enter any sort of formal educational setting they are met with songs, music and rhyme, and that’s no accident: preschool and kindergarten teachers are well versed in just how important it is to expose students to regular rhythmic language play and prioritize the development of a sense of beat and timing.

These skills can help develop musical talent but perhaps even more importantly, they help to support a wide range of other essential skills and contribute to students excelling in other subject areas such as:

An elementary school principal in Phoenix, Arizona asked students the question, “What do principals do?” Answers such as, “loves books,” “plays with kids,” “gets on stage a lot,” and “pays bills so we can stay in school until the 6th grade” were submitted by kindergarteners through fourth graders. It’s fair to say students don’t see everything a principal does during the day, but they certainly have clued in on some of the important aspects of the job.

The internet has transformed the way in which we teach, but also created its fair share of distractions. According to Pew Research Center, 24 percent of teens are online ‘almost constantly’, due in large part to the wide availability of cutting-edge phones. If you have gotten sick of telling students to put their smartphones away during class, you may curse the internet from time to time.

According to the new Common Core Standards, literacy is the responsibility of all subject teachers. In order to get students writing for these new standards, you’ll have to first understand what kind of writing they are expected to do. The three types of writing as defined by the common core are informative, argument, and narrative. Once you understand the three types of writing, you’ll still have to start incorporating them into your classes.