The shift in education towards mobile learning and self reliance has educators and parents grappling over the social dynamic shift in relationships between student and adult. Access to technology has transformed traditional responsibilities, and redefined cultural values which is alarming for some and liberating for others. The media tends towards a worrisome focus on the health of those with access […]
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Posted inAdult Learning, Current Events in Education, Featured, High School, Opinion
What to Consider when Tragedy Occurs during the School Year
Here in south Louisiana, we are recovering. The Cajuns are a strong, passionate people, and I assure you, we will come back stronger than ever. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. In the midst of tragedy, we discover who we are and what we believe, and we choose to believe in humanity and […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, High School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Middle School
Give Students What They Want to Read for Reading Practice
The middle school or high school classroom library can be an important tool in making students life-long readers, but how to choose what goes into a classroom library for independent reading? Providing the books that student want to read is different than pre-selecting books that students should read. Yes, educators believe that students should read selections from the literary canon, for example, those […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, Opinion, Social Studies, The Traveling Teacher
Recharging Your Teaching Battery During Summer Vacation
I’m standing on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, far away from wifi and cell service and anything familiar at the start of my summer vacation. I’m fascinated with the lighting strikes and thunderstorm moving rapidly along the opposite rim. Amateur photographers snap images in 20-second intervals, trying to capture an unforgettable moment but […]
Posted inFormative Assessments, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies
Through Their Eyes: Gathering Information with Formative Assessment
There is a game called Petals Around the Rose. The object of the game is to figure out the rules of the game. The rules of the game are reflected in the title. I played this game in a class composed of masters level engineer students and classroom teachers. It was interesting to observe the […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Current Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Parents
The Trials of Junior Year
Junior year in high school is considered the most difficult year for a variety of reasons. Here are reasons why and ways to help your 11th grader not only survive their junior year, but also feel accomplished. 1. Coursework. Junior year curriculum is difficult. American Literature, American History, Chemistry, and Algebra II are the core […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Middle School, Social Studies
Critical Thinking, Morality, and 'Middle Passage'
The issue of slavery is a deeply rooted social foundation that has been toiled with for generations. Educators, particularly those teaching high school, are charged with helping their students understand how the existence of such a morally reprehensible institution was even possible. As adolescents, these young students struggle developmentally to decompartmentalize a happening such as […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, High School, Middle School
The Media and Teachers..A Lens to the Truth
I knew I was getting old when in my fifth year of teaching I was watching “Saved by the Bell” and I thought, “Geez, these kids are never in class and where are the teachers?” It was one of those moments that always stayed with me. It seems in media, there are only three types […]