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Trevor Barton received his BA in English at UNC Chapel Hill and his MAT at Converse College. He teaches at an inner-city elementary school in Greenville, S.C.
Trevor Barton
Pages authored by Trevor Barton
| Title | Body |
|---|---|
| Become an “Ecolutionary” | Ron Finley inspired me. He calls himself an "eco"lutionary” because he plants and tends gardens in South Central Los Angeles, bringing produce—and... |
| Reflections of a ‘Teacher of the Year’ | The announcement was broadcast at the end of the day over the school’s public address system. "Our Teacher of the Year for 2013-2014 is...Mr. Barton... |
| Galimoto Connects Students to the World | Last Christmas, I received a galimoto, a toy vehicle made by children from sticks, cornstalks, wire or other materials. Mine is a bicycle made of... |
| Helping Boys Become Readers | Many boys at my school struggle with reading. Most are more interested in video games and outdoor activities than books. Our school is not an anomaly... |
| Finding the Best Teacher Voice for Students | During my first year as a second-grade teacher, I struggled with classroom management. I am a soft-spoken person by nature and habit. I didn't have... |
| iPad Project Seeks to Level Educational Field | This year our school district launched an iPad initiative for the kindergarten teachers and students at our Title I elementary school. That is... |
| Tending to Our Students Before Tragedy Strikes | The e-mail message was direct and devastating. One of our fourth-graders had been killed in a gun accident. “Davius had gone to a friend's house to... |
| Homeless is Not So Far Away | My students had questions about the central character in the story Fly Away Home written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ronald Himler. And even as... |
| Celebrating Leo and the Special Olympics | Every morning, Leo's smile brightens the cafeteria at my elementary school. He hobbles in, holding his teacher's hand. His eyes squint at the bright... |
| Out With Pizza, In With Veggies, Black Beans | Something was different at the school cafeteria. The menu included a vegetarian meal of elbow macaroni with cheddar cheese and broccoli. There was... |
| Treasure the Differences in Marvin | I hear it now and then. It invariably comes after a long day in an elementary school classroom, a day that seems like a year. Teacher Trevor... |
| See the Riches Students in Poverty Bring | Editor’s Note: Last month, Teaching Tolerance launched a new series of lessons called Issues of Poverty. This week’s featured lesson can be found... |
| Larry Doby Hits One for History | It was Black History Month. I was working with children and youth in an after-school program in the Clarksdale housing projects in Louisville, Ky.... |
| Revealing Magical Powers in Reading | This year is the 50th anniversary of Roald Dahl's classic children's book James and the Giant Peach. In the story, 7-year-old orphan James Henry... |
| Getting Past the Joy of Consumerism | I asked a small group of second-graders what they would like to find inside their mailboxes. That was after we read a story about a goose who opened... |
| Challenging Conventional Homework Wisdom | "Mr. Barton, I have some homework for you," said Alandra. "But I left it at home on the table." "No problem," I answered. "Just bring it whenever you... |
| When the Law Threatens Student Safety | Editor’s Note: The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed suit in South Carolina challenging SB 20. I wish I could introduce Santos to many residents... |
| Reminding Students of America’s Diverse Beauty | Editor’s Note: As the country approaches the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Teaching Tolerance bloggers have written about their insights and experiences... |
| Growing a Heart is Simple | Teaching can be humanizing work. This is how it happens. The Rodriguez family walks down the hall and turns the corner to my room. "Buenos Dias,... |
| Helping Fellow Teachers Through the Hard Times | "I'm done," I could have said. "Finished." I felt I had potential as a teacher during my master’s degree coursework. "You have the building blocks... |
| Music Creates Wonder and Learning | "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union..." I heard these words for the first time in a song when I was a kid. I was pouring a glass... |
| Helping Billy Inherit the Earth | Billy was 7 years old when he walked through the door of my second- grade classroom. The cowlick in his hair wouldn't stay down. His shirt and shorts... |
| Books Can Build a Bridge of Understanding | "Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me." I was sitting outside on the playground bench wiping the tears of a child when... |
| The Transformation of Hate | “Dad, what is the Clue Clux Clan,” asked my 10-year-old son Bakary as we sat under a shade tree on Saturday in Montgomery, Ala. We were waiting to... |
| ‘How do YOU dismantle the 'isms'? | The question above was posed to me in the comments section of a blog post I wrote recently. The post was entitled "Imani and the Cabbage Seeds." In... |
| Advocate Now for Head Start | Thursday and Friday mornings, I have cafeteria duty at my elementary school. I always smile when our younger students come through the breakfast line... |
| Imani and the Cabbage Seeds | Imani walked down the hall with a paper cup in her hands. She stopped and held up the cup to me. Inside of its paper walls were soil, water, and... |
| Unlocking the Brilliant Corners | B loves bugs. I met him during the first week of school as I conducted the standard assessment of how many words he could read per minute from a... |
| Finding Joy in the School’s ‘Mixing Cup’ | One of my favorite places in the world is the classroom across the hall from me. This room full of wonderful children and teachers is affectionately... |
| Riding the Bus to Equality | Every morning at 7:15, the doors of our school open wide to a line of bus riders ready to come inside. "Hello, Jaheem. Hi, Kiara. Hey, Imani. Hope... |
| Helping Immigrant Children Build a Better Life | I love to receive letters. When I was a little boy, I lived on a straight street where I could see the mail truck coming from a long way off. After... |
| Seeing Economic Justice for All | In early 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders continued plans for a Poor People’s Campaign. It would take place in the spring... |
| Saying ‘Thank You’ to All the Ms. Sandras | Every school day just after 2 p.m., Sandra pushes her cart into my classroom to clean the bathroom and empty the trash cans. She is the school... |
| Listening for the Civil War’s True Legacy | I walked down the newly plowed row with my grandpa, feeling the warm, red clay on the soles of my bare feet and listened to his stories and words of... |
| Teaching As Human Rights Work | Abel Barrera Hernández has worked tirelessly to bring justice to some of Mexico’s most marginalized communities. For his work as founder and director... |
| Helping All Kinds of Families | It was meet-the-teacher night at my elementary school. The room was ready for a new class of second-graders. The rubric for grading paragraphs and... |
| Recognizing Greatness in A First-Grader | There is a wonderful scene in Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird where the all-white jury has returned an unjust verdict against Tom Robinson.... |
| Reading Time With an Unexpected Twist | We made a circle for our guided reading time. I sat down in my trusty old Hinkle rocking chair, and my students sat down crisscross applesauce on... |
| The Pages in the Book Go Flip, Flip, Flip | My elementary school is a Title I school. About 95 percent of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch and Medicaid. Research shows us that... |