Heidi Hayes Jacobs: ”If you’re not updating your curriculum, you are saying that nothing is changing.” “Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of school administrators who responded to a recent survey said 1:1 computing classrooms where teachers act as a coach for students are the future of education.” (T.H.E Journal) “Innovative teaching supports students’...
If you do bus duty in the morning do you see it as an opportunity to greet each and every student with a smile to ensure their day at school starts off right, or do you see it as just another short straw that you have drawn…? If you know a colleague who is...
When I taught sixth grade science, our students were immersed in learning about wildlife characteristics, environments, and patterns in nature in relation to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuaryand our surrounding region. For weeks we explored and discussed the habitats and migratory cycles of raptors, plant life, conservation, as well as the formation of the “river...
As educators we routinely wonder whether or not the advice that we impart on our students actually has had a positive impact. Sometimes were are given direct feedback, but other times were are left to wonder. During the past couple of weeks we have organized two assemblies where I have educated the entire student...
A new book is on the horizon. Innovative Voices in Education- Engaging Diverse Communities, is described by leading urban sociologist and Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University, Pedro Norguera as ”clear and compelling… an invaluable resource.” Given that Norguera’s scholarship and research focuses on the ways in which schools are influenced by social and economic...
“We do not remember days, we remember moments.” ~Cesare Pavese~ We forget, in the rush of school days that hundred of lives are lived every day in our buildings. And, since schools are places where youth and energy are the norm, we are not always well suited to meet the challenges that death and...
“If we want teacher evaluation systems that teachers find meaningful and from which they can learn, we must use processes that not only are rigorous, valid, and reliable, but also engage teachers in those activities that promote learning—namely self-assessment, reflection on practice, and professional conversation.” Charlotte Danielson Evaluation is a tricky thing, even under...
I spend a great deal of time thinking about the shift that we need to see in our schools in order to best prepare our students for their future. Lately I’ve been thinking about the question that many parents ask their children when they get off of the school bus or when they sit...
On October 21st at 8:30 am, George Couros and I will host a workshop / discussion at The Educational Computing Organization of Ontario’s Conference exploring how leaders and aspiring leaders in the field of education can use online tools and social media to develop leadership competencies across the Ontario Leadership Framework. Watching the pre-conference chatter on twitter, I noticed...
In his book Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni tells us that if you have a team that sits around and always agrees, you are not a real team. Teams must challenge each other to be better. There is no innovation if everyone agrees; agreement equals status quo. I have recently read a...
The other day I was fortunate to attend a training session on the new Chromebook at Google’s New York City offices. The Chromebook itself turned about to be an intriguing device that clearly has an upside as an educational tool in schools. It boots up in 8 seconds, has a sleek user interface, is very...
Have you ever read one of those emails that just got under your skin? You know that email or post that just elevated your blood pressure to the point where you felt like your head was going to explode? You then frantically type out a response and hit the send button only to think,...
This past Monday, the Wall Street Journal posted an opinion piece by Fran Tarkenton in which he postulated what the NFL might be like if it had to play by what he called “teachers’ rules.” Tarkenton says: Each player’s salary is based on how long he’s been in the league. It’s about tenure, not...
This thing of beauty came through my network yesterday: Which reminded me of the one sticker on my truck: Truly! I have always aspired towards, and secretly yearned to be a freak…but…because I know I am not one, I can’t be one. You can’t fake freak-dom. Believe me, I’ve tried. I don’t have “it.” ...
My morning routine always involves reading Seth Godin’ blog, and his latest; The forever recession (and the coming revolution) continued to confirm (for me), the recession and coming revolution which Seth describes, is exactly the same as the one we are experiencing in education. Our current recession (the industrial one): And Stephen Heppell talks about… And...
I really can’t explain it, but tornados have been following me around for a lifetime. It began with my father in the middle of the famous Worcester Tornado. He happened to be driving in the city on June 9, 1953, when a driver passed him illegally. This proved to be a fatal error as, minutes...
Last year, during the reading of Dr. Ross Greene’s book “Lost at School” (another must read for any parent or educator), the following question helped me to further drive my views on student discipline: Why is it that when a student that struggles with reading or math… we support… yet when a student struggles...
This is a revised version of a post originally to my own blog. When I’m doing math homework, I just really go fast and crazy, and in the end I still don’t understand it, really. It’s just a lot of pressure. And it shows: I’m always tired in class, because I...
I attended a student’s funeral last Friday. She was a tenth grader, a fifteen year old, and a young woman just beginning her life. She was murdered, shot in the head, while out after midnight in her neighborhood. I believe it’s important to use this blog as a platform to share my experiences as...
Yesterday I had the opportunity to have a great discussion with one of the teachers at my school. We started this conversation during his conference period, and the discussion continued for about an hour after school ended. Our discussion covered several different topics that are typically considered to be the “sacred cows” of educational...
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