by Alaina As 2010 comes to a close, many of us are reflecting on our accomplishments – and things we’d like to do better in 2011. In education, teachers are doing this same kind of reflection. What is it, though, that
Read MoreSymptoms of Failure
It’s a farce, and kids know it. When students ask in math class, “When am I ever going to use this?” let’s stop answering with references to calculating bank interest, prices per pound, and the cost of a sale item.
Read MoreElections, Squirrels, Teaching, and Shiny Things.
An old adage suggests that if one wishes to understand why something truly happens, the question“why?” must be posed at least five consecutive times. This allows the questioner to get below surface-level influences and arrive at the root cause. I
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Sorry, Superman.
You can keep waiting for Superman, but he’s not coming. I find the title of a certain highly controversial documentary to be ironic, because it is problematic in its symbolism, alone. To invoke such iconography during the debate over
Read MoreI AM NOT CUTE!!!!!!!!
This is something I want to scream at people on a regular basis! Let me explain the scenario. This usually happens to me on weekends or anytime I meet someone brand new. It's a conversation I have had many times!
Read MoreJust One More Thing…
“It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.” Dalai Lama We are now
Read MoreMaster of my Domain
Before you read this, check out these two articles! http://www.gazette.com/articles/band-104346-toys-seven.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/08/weirdest-school-bans_n_707587.html Both of these articles are about things that have been “banned” from classrooms. I think banned is a strong word. I congratule these teachers who have stood
Read MoreNothing Special
Jim has been teaching 1st grade for twenty years. Opportunities to work collaboratively with his colleagues should be as common to him as his annual bulletin-board-supply shopping trip, and yet over the course of his 20-year tenure, Jim has spent countless hours in, what he and most of his colleagues would describe as, “the fancy-man-in-the-suit-with-the-power-point trainings”. If Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000-hour rule holds true, then Jim and so many others have become experts at feeling patronized and isolated.
Read MoreSurf or Drown: Let’s Hunt TTWWADI’s!
I recently had the good fortune to hear Ian Jukes share his thoughts on education's struggle to keep pace with "Exponential Times." I found his presentation particularly interesting because a book I recently read identified exponential growth as the most important
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