Welcome to Laura Roth's web site.  I've taught at Tappan since 2006 and in Ann Arbor (at Thurston, Pattengill, and Allen) since 1990.  I've taught 1st, 2nd 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grades.

     I believe in freedom, friends, family, the combination of chocolate and raspberries, the passion of middle school students, watching the Daily Show with my husband, public schools, democracy, making lists to compensate for my poor memory, patience, the beauty of nature, singing loudly and off-key to musicals, spontaneity, asking why, questioning authority, books, laughter, adoption, hot tea, Baskin Robbins chocolate chip ice cream, traveling, eating, fresh flowers, voting, kindness, high expectations, self-assessment and reflection, balance (though I've yet to achieve it), self-discipline, the common good, movies and plays, mastery learning, and change.

     I believe that self-esteem and trust must be earned not given, some students need more than others and they should get more, there is far more that I don't know than that I know, humility is appealing, honesty is important, students need to learn competencies and soft skills at least as much if not more than they need to learn content, just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean it's the right way to do it, people should earn the right to have an opinion by examining all sides of an issue, some of my best ideas come to me in the shower, life is unfair but can still be beautiful, people should try to help others and if they can't manage that at least not hurt them, knowing when to stop talking is a key to parenting (but oh so challenging), the main purpose of assessment should be to inform teaching, students should have frequent opportunities to have choices, voice, and independence, most people have good intentions, schools will change radically in the next twenty years, and that my job is to ensure that all students learn, not to merely teach.