by Jackie Mader, The Hechinger Report February 17, 2026 SAN MATEO, Calif. — School had been in session at Lead Elementary for less than an hour, but already Andrea Quinn had paused teaching her first graders nearly 20 times. First, there was the child who had zipped his entire face inside the hood of his […]
Posted inMathematics
Teacher vs. Tutor: Navigating the “Shadow Education” of Hong Kong
“Am I Not Enough?” Navigating the Teacher-Tutor Power Struggle in Hong Kong The first time it happened, I was reviewing a calculus problem on the whiteboard. I was midway through explaining the conceptual derivation of the chain rule—passionate, animated, trying to get that “lightbulb” moment—when a hand shot up in the back. It was Jason, […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher
Introduction to Gratitude Tour: An educator’s journey in retirement
In my final years of a career I’d not planned and sometimes questioned, multiple events led me to think about how very grateful I was for past Heads of School, colleagues, students and even high school friends who’d carved out a career in teaching. In the spring of 2024, I was wrapping up my 26th […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Teaching and Learning: Learning to Teach by Listening to Students
As teachers, we know that many factors contribute to students maximizing their potential and, hopefully, gaining mastery of a subject. And among those factors, only one is totally within our control – how well we develop and employ our teaching skills. Skills that are enhanced when we embrace the opportunity to learn from our students, […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Building Belonging: Where Cultural Curiosity Begins
“Why cultural curiosity? Why diversity education?” A dear friend who didn’t grow up in American schools often asks me this question. I answer by drawing from my own journey– as an immigrant child, a school social worker, and now a professor–and from what educators see every day: our schools are beautifully diverse microcosms of the […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Guided Reading in Practice: Planning, implementation, and the path to independent readers
Research grounded in the Science of Reading underscores the importance of explicit, systematic, and responsive instruction in developing skilled readers (Shanahan, 2020). Guided reading, when thoughtfully implemented, serves as a differentiated instructional approach that complements the Science of Reading by supporting fluency and comprehension development. It is further designed to meet the diverse literacy needs […]
Posted inChild Development
RELATE: A School-Ready Redesign to Reframe SROs as School Relationship Officers
Authors: Leigh Reagan Alley, Ed.D., University of Maine at Augusta Chief (ret.) Noel C. March, M.A., University of Maine at Augusta A Morning That Could Go Either Way . . . It’s first period. A freshman slams a locker and stalks down the hall, hood up, eyes on the floor. He’s late again, and a […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
The use of mindfulness techniques in mixed-ability classrooms
Mixed-ability classrooms are the norm in the Spanish primary education system. Teachers are required to respond to a wide range of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral needs while ensuring that learning objectives are met and a positive classroom atmosphere is maintained. Finding strategies that support both learning and wellbeing is therefore essential. In addition to these […]