If I were to ask you “What two days of the week begin with the letter T?,” what would you answer? If you said “Tuesday and Thursday,” then congratulations! You may now give yourself a pat on the back for being correct. But what if another person responded “today and tomorrow,” would that individual be […]
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Posted inLegal, Uncategorized
Workplace Bullying in the School- When Is Enough..Enough?
Teachers are often the ones who must protect students from bullying. But, who is going to protect the teacher when he or she is being bullied? Unfortunately, workplace bullying or harassment is not a new phenomenon. There has been federal legislation prohibiting job discrimination since the 1960s. The unique thing about teacher bullying, however, is […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Technology, Uncategorized
Blended Classroom Learning, Virtual and Real Classrooms
The Flat Daddy Diaries Many nights ago, my daughter (KF) sighed and said to her dad,”It’s been such a long time since I was able to lay my head on your shoulder.” She snuggled against him while he held her tight and finished the bedtime story. Flat Daddy flew out to New Mexico to present […]
Posted inLegal, Uncategorized
A Blind Eye to Color: The Future of Affirmative Action in U.S. Colleges and Universities
Most colleges and universities in the U.S. seek to provide an educational environment where students, faculty, and staff share their experiences and learn from one another. The first gatekeeper of learning utopia is the Office of Admissions at the university level. Admissions officers are charged with the important task of selecting the right students to […]
Posted inOpinion, The Unemployed Teacher, Uncategorized
The School Zone: Keeping In Touch With Teaching
This is that marvelous time of the school year when teachers can begin to see that (sometimes desperately) needed break coming in December. Some schools even get an entire week off for Thanksgiving, and that’s right around the corner! Often parent-teacher conferences happen around this time of year, and there are grading days to get […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Uncategorized
Questions Please! An Approach to Higher Learning
“To every answer, you can find a new questions” –Yiddish Proverb. It starts when children can talk, “Why?” Sometimes it can seem endless, “What would happen…?” But it is one of the most important tools we can use in a classroom. Teachers ask questions to engage, motivate, teach, lead, expand, understand and challenge. For such […]
Posted inFrom the Front Lines, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Data-Driven Politics
One of the driving forces behind the advancement of bubble-test tyranny in our school systems today is the concept of data-driven decision-making. Back before we tested every student in every subject on almost every day of the year, cigar-chomping school administrators just pulled decisions out of their backsides and hoped they worked. They threw the […]
Posted inElementary School, Parents, Uncategorized
Parent Teacher Partnerships Provide the Best Literacy Opportunities
I admit becoming a parent made me more aware of what I loved and feared in education. I went through an intense stage of self awareness when my daughter entered kindergarten. Her excitement to learn was attributed to her teacher with 30+ years experience who was engaging, entertaining and organized. Transformation in my own teaching […]