Sarah Shourd is a teacher. She is a writer. She is a reformer. But most of all, Sarah Shourd inspires us all by surviving 14 months of solitary confinement in Iran. Yes, after spending time educating the refugees of Syria in their new homes in Iraq, Ms. Shourd decided to take a leisurely hike in […]
teachers
Posted inClassroom Management, High School, How to Fix Education, Middle School, Opinion
The Student Deserving of an "A" (and Other Grading Policies)
When I was in an interview for the job at the school where I now work, one of the questions they asked me was what I thought about the importance of grades. My answer? Grades are merely a tool. They don’t always represent the heart of a child, or the effort that was put forth or where […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion, Uncategorized
Scratching the Wall of a Condemned Cell: Teaching Humanity
“Tastes change; truths become clichés; whole art forms disappear. Even the greatest art’s triumph over death is risibly temporary. A novelist might hope for another generation of readers—two or three if lucky—which may feel like a scorning of death; but it’s really just scratching on the wall of the condemned cell. We do it to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Teacher Branding
{New Podcast} Staff Loungin' World Tour Interview
Welcome to Staff Loungin World Tour, the podcast where educators talk about education and fly around the world in a Lear jet sipping champagne and eating caviar while they do it In this inaugural episode of the tour Dave jets down to Atlanta to talk to Franchesca Warren, founder of the popular blog, The Educator’s […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, How to Fix Education, Uncategorized
The Experiential Illiterates
I try very hard–and often unsuccessfully–to avoid hyperbole and straw men in my argumentation on behalf of the American institution of public education. My bias is clear, and there is no preventing it from seeping into my writing and speaking and thinking. There’s no getting around it. I have friends both in real life and […]
Posted inEducational Apps, From the Front Lines
There's An App for That
By Guest Writer Mindy Thierolf [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”] Recently I was watching one of those early morning news programs, and they were interviewing a man that was giving a list of the five best […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Forming Your Lessons with Formative 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”] Testing is not a new idea in education. I remember taking the Iowa Test of Basic Skills when I was young. We had yellow number two pencils, small black circles, and […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion, Parents
When We Lose a Student: Vindication, Forbidding Mourning
[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”] Mothers and fathers often say that the most difficult thing they can ever do is bury their own child. Since I have no children of my own, I’m not yet able […]