There are few things sadder to me than to see small children standing in front of a microphone begging to keep their schools open. But that’s Memphis. It’s also Chicago, Philadelphia and New York and on and on. If you don’t yet have charter schools taking over your public schools don’t blink. They’re coming. They […]
So Long Zero Tolerance—Now is the Time to HELP Troubled Kids—Modern Family Thinks So
With all the bad news in education, it is good to see the Obama administration taking steps to address zero tolerance http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/index.html. They are finally attempting to put to rest the outrageous arrests and suspensions involving innocent or misguided children—looking at all of them as criminals. This will help improve public schools. This should stop […]
Suggestions for Parents Concerned About their Student’s Reading Difficulties
My post about reading picture books generated some comments on Facebook about difficulties students have tracking and mixing-up words. Having a child who struggles with reading is never easy. Sometimes you feel like they are on the verge of making a breakthrough—then they get a bad grade or test score and you are right back […]
Drat Common Core and Potty iPads! Use This Instead to Teach a Child to Read
Don’t bank on narrow Common Core English language arts skills to teach your child to read. From what I see and hear, over and over, CC increases stress and reduces a lot of students to tears. It pushes very young children to read more difficult material before they are developmentally ready, and it focuses too […]
Are You a Coach or a Teacher?
The “coaching” post generated criticism. Several individuals argued that coaching can include good attributes and there is nothing wrong with the term. Some teachers, who have been or are currently called coaches, took offense. I am not criticizing teachers/coaches personally. I never said that if you have the title coach, you are not a good […]
“Coaching” Applied to Teaching–Why I Don’t Like It
“Teaching Coaches” have become commonplace as public school curriculum is converted to Common Core. The plan is to enlist teachers, lots of them, to coach other teachers how to instruct using Common Core. In most places these teaching coaches get a stipend of $5-6,000 to help transform a school district into a Common Core wonderland. […]
Mr. Duncan—A Few Reasons Why I Question Your September 30th Speech, “Beyond the Beltway Bubble.”
Arne Duncan takes a lot of criticism from educators. They have never seen him as one of their own. For me personally, I wanted Linda Darling-Hammond to get the job. I don’t always agree with Darling-Hammond, but I do respect her as an educator and a researcher. When Mr. Duncan was hired I and a […]
More About Fluency/Timed Reading Homework
A teacher on Facebook commented on yesterday’s blog about the Fluency/Timed reading homework. She felt it necessary to insist students complete a timed reading homework assignment of 20 minutes or her students would never read. This particular teacher also recognized the argument against homework in general. But I don’t want to get into that right […]
Educational Fun With GAMES—It’s What Motivates Students!
I know that many teachers might feel like they have no time for games and fun educational activities in their classrooms. I find that very sad. Games and free time in class can be a valuable way to bring students together and teach at the same time. And games can provide wholesome family fun. So […]