December 30, 2024
By Aleta Margolis, Founder and President
Prefer audio? Listen to this week’s Hooray For Monday podcast.
From in-depth interviews with leading education advocates and classroom teachers to strategies informed by thirty years of teaching teachers at Inspired Teaching,
each issue of Hooray For Monday in 2024 — all 52 of them! — provided valuable insights, advice, and resources for meeting the week ahead with enthusiasm.
Compiling a “Best of” list is nearly impossible — every issue offers important, timely, and exclusive information — but below you’ll find ten issues of Hooray For Monday that exemplify the Inspired Teaching Approach, and what is possible when teachers and students learn strategies for cultivating engaging, curiosity-fueled classrooms.
Thank you for being a part of our learning community in 2024. I hope you enjoy this issue, and I welcome your continued engagement in 2025!
In this issue, Washington, DC high school student Sarah Lydia showcases why elevating student voice and making space for young people’s curiosity is integral to a classroom — and society — where everyone can thrive.
An Interview with Jonathan Kozol
Ahead of the release of his latest book, renowned author, activist, and educator Jonathan Kozol spoke with Aleta about school “reform,” teacher education, the value of irreverence in the classroom, and much more.
Jenna Fournel spoke with 2023-2024 Teaching with Improvisation Fellow and early childhood educator Joangelee Hernandez about what happens when you adopt an improvisational mindset and let go of perfection.
2023-2024 Teaching with Improvisation Fellow and math coach Vicki Bullock shared insights gained from more than three decades of teaching, including the growth that is possible for students and teachers when we look for Wide-Ranging Evidence of Student Learning.
As part of Inspired Teaching’s ongoing work with Rappahannock, VA County Public Schools, we learned about the Scrabble School — a Rosenwald school — from those who experienced this history firsthand.
This reflection on the 2024-2025 Teaching with Improvisation Institute reinforces the benefits of creativity, flexibility, and joy in learning, as explored by our Fellows during exercises that challenged them to reassess what they thought they knew.
Make School More Like Children
Aleta’s article in EL Magazine tackled the continuing crisis of absenteeism with practical, effective strategies for making school a place where students actually want to be.
As we prepared teachers and students for engaging with the 2024 election, Aleta spoke with former federal judge and author David S. Tatel about making voting and democracy relevant to young people and the power of seeing yourself represented.
As misinformation and divisive discourse run rampant, teachers can use Inspired Teaching’s 4I’s to teach students how to use curiosity to create understanding and counteract prejudice.
Inspired Teaching in Kyiv Classrooms
Olena Poteriaiko, a ‘24-25 Teaching with Improvisation Fellow and English teacher in Ukraine, shared her experience participating in the summer Institute and how she brought Inspired Teaching to her students and colleagues in Kyiv.
Over nearly thirty years, Inspired Teaching has connected with thousands of educators and changemakers whose experience and perspective have helped inform our work. Watch the YouTube playlist below for a peek into what just a few of these inspiring folks have shared with us.
For additional insights, resources, and information on Inspired Teaching teacher and youth programming, subscribe to the Hooray For Monday newsletter!
Hooray For Monday is an award-winning weekly publication of Center for Inspired Teaching, a social change nonprofit organization that champions the power of curiosity and is dedicated to transforming the school experience from compliance-based to engagement-based. Inspired Teaching provides transformative, improvisation-based professional learning for teachers that is 100% engaging – intellectually, emotionally, and physically.