We have almost 11 more months of dealing with pollsters, pundits, politicians, and partisans who have opinions about the presidential race. Each of the presidential candidates will take the podium, attempting to address the ills of our nation, and often chief among them is the role of education. Additionally, students will harbor their own opinion for a […]
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Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion, Uncategorized
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? The Math and Reading Versions
In school math was a subject I approached with trepidation. I usually was the last kid in class asking my teacher to check my problems so that I could continue my homework when I was at home. Here at The Educator’s Room, we’ve written about math instruction intensively especially with the introduction of new tests based […]
Posted inUncategorized
Elementary Educators Can (and Should!) Celebrate LGBT Pride Month
June isn’t just the last month of school for many of us. It is also Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. While teachers know teaching about diverse histories, cultures and identities should never be relegated to one month, I still welcome Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Asian and Pacific […]
Posted inFeatured, High School, Opinion, Uncategorized
Standardized Testing Failure
First, a bit of history: Standardized tests began in the early 1900s as a way to determine intelligence. Those IQ tests were used to determine whether high school students should be on an academic track or a commercial track. Later they were be used by the military to determine who would be a good candidate for officer […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
Accessible Math for Elementary Students AND their Parents
I saw a post on Facebook this week about “Common Core Math.” The idea of the post was if you add 4 apples and 5 oranges you will get an orange haired monkey. Sigh! There is not a perfect curriculum and I don’t believe we will ever know the motivation behind the standards, but they are […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Social Studies
Vampires, Honest Abe, and the Future of History Instruction
America loves its heroes. From the earliest inspirational days of explorers sailing the ocean blue and “discovering” an unruly wilderness that would become the United States, to Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, to the canonization of Steve Jobs (notably by Ashton Kutcher is this film). Without a doubt, many of these heroes deserve their limelight. […]
Posted inPrincipals' Corner
Five Things You Think Principals Want to Hear (and What They Really Want to Hear)
By Jessica Bohn Having conducted many teacher interviews, I sometimes see a pattern emerge from candidates’ answers during job interviews. Sometimes it is thought that if teacher candidates use the current buzzwords, they are sure to make a good impression. However, the reality is that most principals have conducted countless interviews and can see through […]
Posted inEnglish Language Learners, Featured, From the Front Lines, How to Fix Education
Welcome to America: Now Take this Test. The Realities of Refugee Students and their Teachers
This year’s ASCD Conference in Los Angeles was weighed down by sessions about the CCSS and flipped classrooms – topics that reasonably should have been big 3+ years ago. But there were a few diamonds among the rough; educators who presented with prescient understanding oncoming issues that the education community must face. One of those […]