Teachers need to be held accountable for student learning. Teaching is a job and our job is for students to learn. Employees who work at McDonald’s are held accountable for putting a Big Mac together correctly. Workers at Target are
Read MoreParents: Please Look Beyond the Snapshots to Look at the Core
In the past many months, I’m sure many of you who are on social media have noticed a certain brand of posts related to the Common Core. Most of them begin with a photo of a third-grader’s math homework. Usually,
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Vulgar and Perilous Reforms
In 1790, conservative political philosopher Edmund Burke wrote in Reflections on the Revolution in France: “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.” Clay Shirky, expert on the role of social media and
Read MoreHalf Empty or Half Full
I recently read a post on Facebook… A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead,
Read MoreEnriched Kids
The statistics don’t lie: students who come from academically focused and highly educated households will often replicate such success. But why? Experiences? Lifestyle? Money? Parental education?
Read MoreBully: Will it Get Better? Part 2
Will bullying ever go away? Probably not. Will things get better for those being bullied? Yes, it will but it won't happen on its own. We have to empower children on how to handle bullies and be there to help
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Teacher Eval: Hunger Games Style
Yes, the geeky-English teacher that I am has jumped all over The Hunger Games craze. Yes, I’ve coerced all of my students into buying the book to use in class, most of us have seen the movie, plan to blog
Read MoreProtecting the Teacher AllSpark
I read Bill Ferriter’s blog this week about the story of Mitchell 20, a movie about 20 Phoenix elementary teachers who chose to pursue National Board certification as a way to take control of the one thing they could control:
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Future Shock!
It’s not easy being a parent and now there’s one more reason why. Much like automobile shoppers in the emerging car market of the 1950’s who wandered wide-eyed into attractive dealerships, parents have become consumers, but instead of for cars, they are shopping for the shiniest of schools.
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