Scoring the state tests is underway by teachers across the city. One teacher says she and her peers take the task seriously. Before scoring a test she always does one thing first: she turns over the booklet to read the mailing label.

One teacher used the Boston Marathon bombing to teach her students about Chechnya. Another helped students process what happened in terms they could understand. “I told them that we can’t let bullies rule us whether they’re terrorists or in the school,” he said.

One teacher said he’s insulted by new rules that require standardized tests are graded by outside teachers rather than those who know the students. Teachers, after all, design tests all the time and should be trusted to grade them fairly, he said.

A memory of a great teacher named Ms. Katz, recalled by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, sparked callers and online readers to name their own teachers who inspired them to think differently. Who is your Ms. Katz?

A science teacher at Victory Collegiate High School in Canarsie, Brooklyn says educators shouldn’t assume that students will respond to the same teaching styles that worked for them when they were younger.

A high school teacher criticizes the Department of Education for its decision to have teachers report to work on Friday ahead of this week’s return to school for most students.

During the final presidential debate on Monday, President Obama gave a sliver of air time to the idea of class size. And on a visit to Brooklyn on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan agreed that classes would be smaller “in an ideal world,” but reiterated the administration’s stance that having a good teacher matters more than how many students are in the classroom.

The principal of the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn argues that any new teacher evaluation system needs to include training and not merely rely on student scores.

Comparing teaching to performing, this educator and author prescribes a simple way to help teachers improve their work — require them to spend time away from students practicing their craft.

To cap a week-long education series, The Takeaway invited teachers from around the country – including New York City – to describe the students they worry about the most and the issues that are of the biggest concern to them. Take a listen.