Learn with Mel Hern

English language learners (ELLs) form a diverse group within the United States education system, bringing unique perspectives and backgrounds to the classroom. However, they also encounter distinct challenges that can impact their academic experience. In this blog post, we'll explore the hurdles faced by English language learners and delve into important strategies that teachers can employ to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Challenges Faced by English Language Learners:  Language Barrier: ELLs often face the immediate hurdle of a language barrier, impacting their ability to comprehend lessons, participate in class discussions, and complete assignments effectively. It is imperative that teachers find student native language level so that further instruction in English can take place. One tool that I have found useful is ENIL from the American Reading Company. It is a very self explanatory evaluation tool that looks at Spanish language independence level, fro...

Teachers are Tired. Teachers have been tired and it has only gotten worse since COVID hit. Teachers, like so many other workers, are bearing the brunt of all of our country's problems, from personal beliefs to political beliefs, to the selfishness that has come out in droves amongst our citizens, and so much more. We see and hear so much and are faced with a barrage of problems for us to solve at the drop of a dime, leaving us to feel like an empty vessel upon returning home to our families.  It feels as if we are a dartboard in a crowded pub on a Saturday night, the unending pricks of sharp objects puncturing our true being, our sense of self, our sense of worth.  As I arrived home from work the other day, I helped my husband with dinner, threw a load in the wash, then went to pick up my son from football practice and stopped at the store on the way home.  I was feeling tired and knew that I was short with my son. On the ride home from the store, he asked me why I had be...

  It has been a crazy rough year and you are tired of your 9 to 5. In fact, you have been dreaming about not only being your own boss but being able to work from home too!  Someone mentions your creativity and suggests you try creating books on the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform . After all, what do you have to lose, right?  Before you quit your day job let's be clear about how KDP really works.  Let me back up a minute though. First of all, what is Amazon KDP? Well, to be short, it is Amazon's publishing platform. Authors who once found it difficult to share their work now have a world-reaching platform to share their work and better yet, Amazon offers high content books, ebooks, hardcover books, and also low and no content books as well. Hence, there is much to work with if you are someone searching for a new way to earn money. You may be someone who has struggled to find readers or an audience. What Amazon has done is given authors a huge playing f...

Should I Quit My Day Job Yet?  Let me give you a little back story on my dream to work from home. I have been on a mission to create a side gig that will eventually allow me to leave my full-time job as an educator. I have been teaching for the last 19 years and while I love working with students, I do feel that I need a change.  I want to be able to work from home and move away from the daily grind so that I can be with my parents whenever they need me, still be able to help support my family, and have the freedom that I crave. That is my why and I am working tirelessly for change so that I can accomplish my dream.  My first attempt at working from home started about two years ago as I began selling It Works products, that I really do love. I have made an income from my phone each month, which has been great. I love to introduce people to our awesome coffee, neck cream, and more and I will continue to spread the word, but I know that it isn't my calling to do this for t...

Growing up Mexican-American in the United States was growing up to be White. I was raised In South Texas, in a predominantly brown town, but let’s be real…the town was run by the minority White folks. So, to say that I fully embraced my culture, my history, would be a lie. I was more White than I should have been. From the time I was born, the society in which my ancestors fought in wars for tried to rid me of my heritage. Forget that my Great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were veterans and saw bloodshed for this country and forget that my ancestors where here long before Texas became Texas. None of that matters when you are growing up brown in America. Why is that? Why are our White brothers and sisters so scared of allowing us an equal playing field? Stop right there if you think we have always had equality because if you do, you are sadly mistaken. Let me give you a brief history of my family’s field and you decide if I have had an equal chance at life. Were opportunities the...

  Let's talk about making money online. If you are anything like me, you are seeking to make passive income so that you can have the freedom to live life on your own terms, and even though some make earning passive income look easy, everything you have tried has failed. Either way, you keep dreaming of the day when you achieve the financial freedom of being able to work from anywhere in the world while money rolls in while you sleep.  Wouldn't that be cool?  Well, If you have been following me at all, then you know I have been focused on working hard to make money online since around the end of April. So, how has it gone? Before I delve into the income portion, let's discuss the type of platforms that I am using. The first platform I started using was the boom learning site which saved me during our online teaching sessions. I truly love  boomcards . They are interactive activities on any topic and grade level you can imagine. What I do on boom learning is create dig...

Tell me you are a teacher that is chilling, feet propped up, sun beating down on you as you sip on a cocktail. School is not etched in your mind at all. Is that even possible?  Can we relax without either thinking about school or thinking about what is the next best thing we can do while we have some down time? If you are anything like me, it must be hard to get your brain to slow down after months of constant go, go, go. I find the first week or so of summer to be mentally challenging. My routine is gone. The many quick decisions I make on the daily have come to a sudden halt and here I am alone left to my own devices. Time to myself, now that my kids are gown, leaves room for so much thought that sometimes my brain wants to pop!  Please tell me I am not alone when it comes to the revolving chamber of ideas that runs through my brain, usually at 2 am, each one firing simultaneously as I decide which brand new thought to grab on to and run with, in hopes that this will be the ...