Helping Students (and Teachers!) Understand the Yellow Zone and How to Stay in Control Hey friend! Have you ever felt all wiggly inside?...

Hey there, friend. Have you ever had a day where you felt a little… off?Not mad. Not silly. Not focused. Just… slow.Quiet.Maybe even a...

By: Mikaela Ostrander Not all challenging behaviors come from anger or defiance. Sometimes, they come from deep discomfort, traum or a...

By: Mikaela Ostrander Every student brings a unique energy and way of seeing the world — and sometimes, that energy can feel overwhelming...

By Mikaela Ostrander Hey there, and welcome to Stories by a Teacher . This is where I’ll be sharing real-life moments from the classroom...

By: Mikaela Ostrander I want to share a story that’s stuck with me — because it reveals so much about what’s really going on behind some...

A Fly on the Wall Book Seven: The Day Didn't Go My Way I flew through the hallway, high over a line,When I noticed one kid who was not...

By: Mikaela Ostrander Let’s start with a hard truth: Dyslexia is not rare. It’s just rarely identified. Roughly 1 in 5 children  have...

If we now know  what works in teaching reading, why are so many kids still struggling? To answer that, we have to look back. A History of...

A Fly on the Wall Book Six: When Anger Tags Along I zipped through the window, the morning still new,Kids walked in with backpacks and...

Do You Think Kids’ Behavior Is Justified Because of the System? No. I think it’s understood  because of the system — and redirected  with...

By Mikaela Ostrander If there’s one thing I could shout from the rooftops to every educator, policymaker, and parent, it’s this: literacy...

A Fly on the Wall Book Five: The Guide, Not the Boss I hovered near math class, right over a map,When I heard a loud grumble — a stomp...

In our last post, we explored how the traditional education system is designed for just a fraction of students — those who are...

A Fly on the Wall Book Four: The Power of Letting Go I zipped past a pencil, then looped ‘round a chair,When I spotted a scowl and a...

By Mikaela Ostrander Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, believed that human behavior and personality...

A Fly on the Wall Book Three: The Fear of Missing Out I fluttered by Friday, just after noon,The sun in the sky, kids humming a...

by Mikaela Ostrander Hi there — I’m Mikaela Ostrander. I’m a special education teacher and speech-language pathology assistant with a...