This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. [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”] Argumentation today consists of little more than two people taking turns misrepresenting one another’s positions. Gone are the days of Socrates, when the point of […]
Kindergarten
Posted inElementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Principals' Corner
Who's Developing Whom? Success with Do It Yourself Professional Development
Why don’t schools routinely tap their best teachers to organize and deliver custom-tailored professional development to their peers?This was the question posed by Nancy Flanagan regarding teacher professional development in an article titled , “Who’s Developing Whom?” posted in Education Week Teacher (1/28/2012).Well, in response to her question, I would like to suggest that she visit my school (virtually, […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, Opinion, Uncategorized
Education Reform- Nefarious Motives?
It’s easy to ascribe nefarious motives to those with whom we disagree. As I read headlines about school reform, I often find myself wondering if the reformers I am reading about are “white hat” reformers who truly care about the plight of poor children whose only hope for a better future will come through education, […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Opinion, Uncategorized
"White Hat" and "Black Hat" Reformers
This is a cross-post from EdGator.com. In one of the articles linked today, Alexander Russo tells of a “former reformer” who is now, as a parent, on the receiving end of a harsh reform measure: the forced consolidation of his child’s school. I’m sympathetic. I’m also reminded that, despite the eager cruelty of some, all […]
Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, Uncategorized
English Teachers Should Have More than a Footnote
The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) wants students to read in every discipline from elementary school through grade 12. The standards demand an increase in the reading of informational texts, the genre formally known as non-fiction. So where is the passage that concludes that English/Language Arts teachers will continue to teach fiction and literary non-fiction […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Fulfilling The Interdisciplinary Dream
The education world is all about buzzwords. From early classes in all disciplines to graduate level courses in specialized topics, practitioners are constantly throwing around terms like “differentiation”, “STEM” (now STEAM), “flipped classrooms”, “high-stakes testing”, “collaborative learning”, and “MOOCs”. These catchphrases live in the hearts and minds of professionals from first-grade math and high school […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, New Teacher Bootcamp, Opinion
Creating Confident Readers Out of Struggling and Reluctant Readers
So, it’s directed reading time. I have my readers grouped according to ability and the groups are reading different books, which I have geared toward the students in the particular groups. I have a group who collectively love animals, so we are reading Trouble According to Humphrey. I have another group who are mostly boys […]
Posted inElementary School, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Literacy, Uncategorized
ESL Students in the General Education Classroom
Help! I have a new student in the middle of February who doesn’t speak any English! What should I do? Sound familiar? This often happens at my school. English Language Learners (ELL), or English as a Second Language (ESL) students, are part of a very transient population. Sometimes students will even leave mid-year for a month […]