For those unaware, standards-based grading is a popular evaluation system designed to simplify teaching, learning, and assessment. It strips a student’s grade down to their ability to meet the announced standards. The idea is that students will learn more easily if teachers grade based upon very explicit and clear standards. Moreover, by standardizing the grading […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Opinion: Right Now Things Are Hard, But It’s Going to Be Fine
Right now, things are hard. Nothing feels fine, or normal. As we all know, teaching in person is different than teaching online. There are many things that we as educators are dealing with right now. How do we ensure that our students are learning, when there are some students without the ability to attend online […]
Posted inCOVID
Opinion: Teacher Tribes, Now More Important Than Ever
by Elizabeth Schreidber M.Ed. Isolation, self-doubt, insecurity, fear, fatigue, depression, loneliness, anxiety, insomnia, stress, disconnect, disinterest, sorrow, lethargy, grief, frustration, irritability, distress, the list goes on and on. Welcome to COVID-19 distance learning. As teachers we discuss regularly how our students and families are experiencing each of these emotions, we take it on as the […]
Posted inCoronavirus
I Can’t Get Ahold of My Students: Tools for Maintaining Relationships with Students During Distance Learning
Teachers around the world are missing their students. We miss being in the classroom and getting to connect with real students in real-time. Every district has its own plan for when they will return to classes and some are even going back sooner rather than later. But what do we do during this time to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Pandemic Movie Choice: Bad Education: A Movie Review
“It’s not having what you want,” quips Roslyn Assistant Superintendent Pam Gluckin in her Long Island accent, “it’s wanting what you got.” And what educators got from HBO’s Bad Education was a harrowing detail of a pair of school administrators gone rogue with the school district’s treasury, sacking $11.2 million before they were caught… by […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education
Urban Districts Warn That 275,000 Teacher Jobs Could Be At Risk Due to COVID-19
In an unprecedented move, the Council of Greater City schools drafted a letter asking Congress for emergency funding of $200+ billion for the upcoming school year. Without this aid, the group says that an estimated 275,000 teachers may lose their jobs due to a combined loss in state and local revenues in large, city school […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
For Students Who Can’t Read, Computers Won’t Help Them- But Teachers Can
Jason in my 2nd-period class can’t read. He decodes one-syllable words alright, but anything more, he won’t get. Maureen in period 10, she can read. Ask her a question about what she just read and she will stare blankly back at you. Javier is in my 5th period, I’m not sure about hi. He has […]
Posted inCOVID
Teacher Perspectives of Educating K-12 Students During a Pandemic
Guest Writer: Courtney Mathews States across the country have shut down public and private schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in parents having to manage their child’s schoolwork overnight. While the majority of teachers had to shift their instruction to meet distance learning standards. Some districts have been distance learning since the […]