There are a multitude of opinions on the topic of calculators, ranging from: “I learned math without a calculator” to “what happens if children are dependent on calculators and there isn’t one around” to “children should not move on to higher level math until they can do basic computations mentally.” I am going to explain why […]
Jackie Parrish
I am a retired teacher who taught in middle school for 30 years. I have certifications in elementary education, reading, and math. I have spent most of my career teaching math to 7th and 8th graders in an urban setting. I have also presented staff development within my school and within my district. Although I am now retired I am still passionate about teaching math in ways that engage all students.
How My Elementary School Community Saved My Life
I was born in 1951. A few months after my birth, it was discovered that I had a heart defect that would need surgery. Before I was old enough to have the surgery my father died. As there was no real safety net back then, my mother and I lived with three different families until […]
Children Are Not Widgets
In an effort to improve education, many reformers suggest that we use a business approach to evaluate teachers. To do this they suggest that teachers must be rated based on what they “do” for the children that they teach. For many, this means judging the quality of a teacher based on the improvements students make […]
Mathematics Education – Pedagogy vs Content
The issue of which is more important: mathematical content knowledge or knowledge of educational pedagogy has been swirling around for some time.
Decreasing Our Drop-out Rate
In the U.S., one student drops out of school every 12 seconds. Too often we assume that students drop out because they are disinterested or lazy. Maybe we should be looking at our traditional high schools to see if they may be the problem. One model program that has been working since 1995 is Big […]
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
I chose this African proverb as the title for this article because I believe it represents the missing link in improving our schools. Much is said these days about what teachers need to do to improve test scores. Suggestions include a longer day, a longer school year, and elimination of all subjects that are not […]
Rethinking Discipline
My first teaching assignment was in an urban middle school, where I was fortunate enough to have several excellent colleagues as mentors. I learned to handle most classroom problems myself, reporting only major violations to administration. Here are a few techniques I used during my 30 year career. 1. Have a sense of humor. If […]
Saving Public Education – Saving Our Students: The Philadelphia Story
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] There is a war on public education, and Philadelphia could be the model used to privatize education, especially education for the disadvantaged. I believe teachers, as the experts, need to be […]