Resolution for the Year of the Rat
Let us hold on to our promises to kids – for California, to really make this the “Year of Education,” for the U.K. to encourage others to make this the “National Year of Reading” – and stop for a moment and make a resolution to see education as something beyond the books, classroom lessons, and homework assignments – to see the face of real children whose lives affect us and are affected by us. Let’s make this year, perhaps this era, one for the prosperity of our children and youth.
0 Comments Posted Friday, February 15, 2008
Response to Intervention: What You Need to Know
Whatever your political leanings may be, you can probably see the argument that NCLB has in many ways been good for low-achieving students. Titles 1 & 3, among others, have channeled funds directly toward students who need help, whether during the day or after school. An outgrowth of the focus on low-achieving kids has been a movement to systematize and structure the types of interventions schools offer for such students. This process has been codified in what is termed "Response to Intervention," or RtI.
4 Comments Posted Friday, February 15, 2008
Alternate Materials: Engaging the Reluctant Reader
When it comes down to it, whether our kids are reading "the classics" or Sports Illustrated for Kids shouldn't be our greatest concern. Really, the question is whether they are reading at all. And if we can find materials to engage them, they will!
0 Comments Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Freedom Writers
As I see it, when kids truly want to learn something - especially from curricula that encourage them to deal with real life issues like race and violence, while helping them develop strong enough literacy skills to make it to college - we do them more of a disservice by not allowing them to explore those materials.
0 Comments Posted Monday, February 04, 2008
Should Reading Be So Hard?
With the drudgery of some reading programs which employ rote tasks that aren't applicable to authentic and meaningful textual experiences, I fear that we make reading much harder for kids than it should be...
0 Comments Posted Friday, January 25, 2008
Speaking Out Against Graduation Exams
Educators and school board members alike are speaking out against the proposed graduation exam requirements in Pennsylvania. With the number of benchmark assessments on the rise across the country, there are many who feel that assessments are the only way to hold both teachers and students accountable for their learning. But in Pennsylvania, they disagree.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a….Reading Teacher?!
According to a New York Times article, "Superman Finds New Fans Among Reading Instructors," the Maryland State Department of Education is planning on expanding a literacy program which employs comic books as part of its curriculum after seeing positive results in a pilot program...
2 Comments Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Don’t Look a Gift-Horse in the Mouth! The Dilemma of the ‘Gifted.
When there isn't an attempt to explore and capitalize on what makes children unique, "gifted" or otherwise, all children are left behind.
2 Comments Posted Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Calculators in the Classroom
Since the invention of the calculator forty years ago, educators have debated the value of such tools in the classroom.
3 Comments Posted Thursday, December 13, 2007
U.S. Flatlines on PISA
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently released the results of its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
0 Comments Posted Monday, December 10, 2007
Building our Children’s Brains
Carol S. Dweck identifies two different mindsets in students: the fixed mindset, which believes that success stems from ability, and the growth mindset, which believes success comes from growth. Dweck's research has shown that students who are spoken to with a growth mindset are the students for whom growth is more likely, and success greater.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, December 06, 2007
Are Influential Teachers Becoming Extinct?
According to figures released by the United Federation of Teachers in New York City, teacher resignations have increased steadily since 2001.
2 Comments Posted Tuesday, December 04, 2007