Chalking the Line: a Blog for Teachers, By a Teacher | Elmhurst University

Check out the Department of Education’s blog series! New blog articles are released throughout the academic year.

Recent Posts

Young student seated with teacher

Expand Your Impact as a Teacher with an LBS1 Endorsement

April 21, 2026 | 4 Minute Read

Teacher and students in front of a whiteboard

Unleash the Power of Teacher Leadership

February 3, 2026 | 4 Minute Read

Elmhurst University Blog

High-Quality Professional Development for Teachers

December 2, 2025 | 7 Minute Read

Elmhurst University Blog

How Teacher Leadership Encourages Community Engagement

September 16, 2025 | 5 Minute Read

Student teacher with elementary children

A Critical Need for Special Education Teachers in Illinois

February 4, 2025 | 6 Minute Read

Teacher Leadership

Empowering Teacher Leadership: Pioneering Educational Equity and Improvement

December 10, 2024 | 6 Minute Read

Developing a Virtual Teacher Research Network

July 23, 2024 | 5 Minute Read

AIML illustration

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education

April 23, 2024 | 9 Minute Read

The Importance of Representing Everyone in Today’s Classroom

January 30, 2024 | 8 Minute Read

Bilingual Education blog illustration

Does Dual Language Bilingual Education Promote Equity?

November 21, 2023 | 10 Minute Read

Engaging Families

Engaging Families in Schools Today

October 24, 2023 | 7 Minute Read

science of reading

The Science of Reading

September 26, 2023 | 10 Minute Read

instructional coach

What is Instructional Coaching?

August 15, 2023 | 6 Minute Read

Illustration of a teacher holding a long scroll that lists teacher mental health items such as work-life balance and wellness.

5 Things to Put on your Teacher Mental Health Checklist

February 7, 2023 | 5 Minute Read

$integrating math blog illustrations$

Integrating Math Education with Other Subjects Adds Up to Stronger Lessons

April 12, 2022 | 5 Minute Read

An illustration of school items lined up to spell out the word "Thanks" for the theme of how to thank a teacher.

How to Thank a Teacher

November 23, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

An abstract illustration shows a teacher mentor with a protege, highlighted with the words "Listen," "Intervene" and "Connect."

What Makes a Great Teacher Mentor?

November 2, 2021 | 5 Minute Read

special education certificate blog illustration

How Do You Get a Special Education Certificate in Illinois?

September 21, 2021 | 4 Minute Read

An illustration of three students making up for lost time as schools go back to normal.

Schools Can’t Just ‘Go Back to Normal’

August 30, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

A colorful illustration shows a winding road to social emotional learning in schools. The letters "S," "E" and "L" are inside of map pins along the road.

How Should Social Emotional Learning Change Post-Pandemic?

April 26, 2021 | 7 Minute Read

Illustration showing a teacher trying to earn an ESL endorsement in Illinois. This endorsement is necessary to teach English as a Second Language courses.

How Do I Get an ESL Endorsement in Illinois?

March 16, 2021 | 3 Minute Read

Teacher Resources blog illustration

5 Must-Bookmark Sites for Teacher Leadership Resources

February 16, 2021 | 5 Minute Read

An illustration featuring in-person students and the chat box of a student attending school virtually shows just how important new teaching strategies will be for a permanent return to physical classrooms.

3 New Teaching Strategies for the Return to Classrooms

January 5, 2021 | 8 Minute Read

An illustration shows the advantages of virtual learning, including virtual field trips and projects, over the tied-to-a-laptop approach of remote learning.

Virtual Learning Is the Way Forward for Educators

October 8, 2020 | 7 Minute Read

The challenges of teacher retention are represented in this illustration of four different types of doors, with teachers blocked by each one.

Teacher Retention: How to Keep the Best from Leaving

June 16, 2020 | 8 Minute Read

An illustration of a science teacher performing an experiment with her class. Well-trained STEM teachers are critical to our education system.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Oh My! We Need STEM Teachers.

April 8, 2020 | 9 Minute Read

teacher shortage blog post illustration

Remedying the Teacher Shortage by Diagnosing Why a Shortage Exists

February 18, 2020 | 8 Minute Read

A colorful illustration featuring the parents of students talking to teachers at a parent teacher conference.

What to Ask at a Parent-Teacher Conference: Before, During and After

December 3, 2019 | 6 Minute Read

individual with special education skills

The Special Educator Skills All Teachers Should Have

October 22, 2019 | 5 Minute Read

Set teaching goals that are REAL, and you'll set yourself up for success in the new school year.

Make Your Teaching Goals REAL This Year

August 27, 2019 | 8 Minute Read

Teaching Strategies blog illustration

3 Powerful Teaching Strategies for Connecting with Your Students

May 2, 2019 | 7 Minute Read

A world map is shown in this illustration for 5 tips for teaching AP Human Geography class.

5 Tips for Teaching AP Human Geography

March 20, 2019 | 4 Minute Read

An illustration of students walking up steps that spell out teacher leadership.

What Is Teacher Leadership?

March 15, 2019 | 9 Minute Read

"4 Reasons to Love Teaching" illustration thumbnail

4 Reasons to Love Teaching

February 14, 2019 | 7 Minute Read

You might have your own reasons to teach, but here are five core justifications for becoming a teacher.

5 Reasons to Teach

January 16, 2019 | 7 Minute Read

About the Author

Deb Meyer is a professor of education at Elmhurst University and a former classroom teacher in Mesa, Arizona. She teaches undergraduate courses to prospective teachers in educational psychology and upper elementary/middle school literacy methods and graduate courses in teacher leadership.

She launched her “Chalking the Line” series in January of 2019.

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