As a teacher and American citizen, it is difficult to discern what values we stand for as a nation today. It seems that our government has blurred the lines between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, equality and discrimination, and honesty and scandal. In the pendulum swing from the “post-racial” Obama years to the quasi-authoritarian […]
Adult Learning
Adult learning is simply a situation where adults are pursuing education. This can be done in a formal setting in higher education, trade school, or apprenticeship
Posted inHow to Fix Education
The Dangers of For-Profit Education
Betsy DeVos, the current education secretary, has made headlines again regarding investigations of fraudulent for-profit colleges. On May 13 2018, The New York Times reported that investigations on several for-profit colleges had “ground to a halt”. Many of the team members appointed by DeVos were former employees at those entities being investigated, most notably, Julian […]
Posted inAdult Learning
The Royal Wedding: Why Should We Care? One American Teacher’s Perspective
The news broke this morning: another school shooting, this time in Santa Fe, Texas. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to entertain the thought that this most recent massacre is the 22nd school shooting this year. I can’t bear to think that ten more families will be planning funerals and that […]
Posted inAdult Learning
The Facets of Personality and Successful Teaching
Anyone who has ever been a cooperating teacher for an up-and-coming student teacher knows how difficult it can be to evaluate one’s protege negatively. As I observed my student teacher. I am inspired to evaluate my own teaching style and the elements of my personality that go into my efforts to be a master teacher. […]
Posted inAdult Learning
One Future of K-12 Education: From the Factory to a Personalized Model
From the Factory to a Personalized Model If you’re old enough, try to think back to the way teaching and learning was designed 40 or 50 years ago. The teacher was the “sage on the stage.” He or she had the subject information in their mind, and it was up to the teacher to make […]
Posted inHow to Fix Education
Teacher Preparedness and Prohibitive Costs
Last month, I wrote an article for TER which explained proposed budget cuts to education. One area that suffered, in particular, was teacher preparedness programs. Like with all certifications, whether you’re a nurse or a real estate agent, you must keep your certificate current by completing continuing education credits. On the surface, this doesn’t seem […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Coaching the Players: Teaching the Teachers
Note: This idea came to me upon receiving my promotion as an Instructional Coach. A close friend gave me a (Sports Coach) whistle, along with a great card and a balloon to help me celebrate. I keep my whistle hanging in my office right next to my calendar to remind me of the similarities in […]
Posted inAdult Learning
[Episode 56] The Politics of Mathematics
In this episode, Franchesca Warren interviews Dr. Toya Jones Frank a Professor of Mathematics Education Leadership and Secondary Education at George Mason University about the politics of mathematics and what kids really need to be successful mathematicians. In this episode, we discuss the following: What are the struggles of mathematics education across the grade levels? […]