At the beginning of the brand new school year, I had my students create a chain by taking a strip of paper and writing their goals for the school year on one side, and their strengths and talents on the other. I then had them connect the chain together and we hung it from the […]
Posted inFeatured, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
Politicized Purpose: A Reassessment of Teacher Unions Today
In February 2011, about 1,000 Wisconsin teachers protested Gov. Scott Walker’s attempt to hinder union bargaining rights. Ripple effects were felt throughout the nation: political leaders sought to reform unions in each New Jersey, Nevada, Indiana, and Florida, to name a few. In her report on these stories, Jennifer Epstein of Politico writes, “Teachers unions, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Technology
Google Conference Shows Power of Tech in Education
Technology can greatly enhance instruction by encouraging meaningful collaboration, creation, and developing 21st-century skills. This was the main message of last weekend’s conference in Roseville, Calif. (near Sacramento). Known as a “GAFE” Summit (Google Apps for Education), this two-day event provided inspiration and technical know-how for integrating the use of Chromebooks and other Google technologies […]
Posted inClassroom Management
What Will Your Students Get To DO Today?
Monday we have in-service. It is not something I look forward to, but our district has made steps over the past few years to make changes to in-service days. I remember when I began teaching 18 years ago I would sit and get in lectures and in-services devised to “provide me with information necessary to […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Technology
Week 4, 1:1 iPad Rollout – Digital Learning Day
Did you know about Digital Learning Day nationwide? I stepped up my enthusiasm for digital learning by telling students to SMASH APPS! and tweeted class totals (#dlday). Smashing immediately connotes images of destruction but according to my Twitter community it simply means using more than one app to create something digital. My students had opportunities […]
Posted inOpinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Why Smaller is Better: Class Sizes Matter
When I was in first grade, way back in the early 1960’s, there were 52 students in my class. It was the baby boom. It was a Catholic school. It still was an astonishing number of children. There were three reading groups named Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Those poor Joseph’s! How can you learn to […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
The Laws of Teaching
By Guest Contributor: Mindy Thierolf One day I found myself thinking about the laws of the universe, and I had to wonder…are there any LAWS of TEACHING? Well according to John M. Gregory’s book, The Seven Laws of Teaching, there are seven. Newton had three. Murphy just needed one, you know… “Anything that can go wrong […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, Interviews, Middle School, Social Studies
Veteran Teacher Reflects on his Olympic Race
I had been teaching for two years when my colleague and future husband was named to the 1998 Olympic team to Nagano Japan. It was a classic story. A full time teacher takes a year off from the daily grind of education, transfers that intensity, focus, dedication and stamina into skiing and wins the one […]