Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Uncategorized

Begin March Madness: Testing and the Smarter Balanced Assessment

[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”] March Madness is not exclusive to basketball. March Madness signals the season for standardized testing season here in Connecticut. March Madness signals the season for testing in 23 other states as […]

Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Uncategorized

Perplexed in CT by Recommendations for EngageNY Curriculum

Perplexed: adj. 1. bewildered; puzzled. 2. complicated; involved; entangled. (o _ 0 )  ? I am perplexed as to why this word is on the EngageNY first grade vocabulary list, and again perplexed when I review the first grade units for English Language Arts (ELA) on this website. I am perplexed because I can see that several units in our […]

Posted inBook Review, Featured, Opinion

ELL Classroom Instruction that Works – a Book Review

by: Jennifer Healey Book: Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners 2nd Edition By: Jane D. Hill and Kirsten B. Miller Published: ASCD, 2013   [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”] Most K-12 classroom teachers are […]

Posted inInstruction & Curriculum, Teacher Branding, The State of Education, Uncategorized

Teacher Branding 101: Teacher Brainwashing Has to Stop

“Well, I’m okay with struggling financially, I teach because I love my kids not to get rich.” “Well…I’d like to move to that job in Central Office, but I don’t know if I’m qualified.” “I don’t know if I could ask for what I wanted. They may not let me do that.” As educators, we’ve […]

Posted inCommon Core, Elementary School, How to Fix Education, Instruction & Curriculum, Kindergarten, Uncategorized

Education’s Ancient Texts: The Rosetta Stone and Standardized Test Data

[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”] As I stood in front of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum in London, I had to wiggle my way through the blockade of tourists who were trying to photograph the small […]