Posts Tagged ‘Education Blog’
Blame the Parents — I Do
Last year at Back-To-School-Night, I was pleasantly surprised to see both parents of a struggling student show up. The student was in my accelerated 9th grade class. She had an F, she didn’t do any homework, and always came into my classroom [...]
Let’s Make a Deal: How to Help Fading (and Failing) Students at the End of the Year
Everyone loves the end of the school year, especially the teachers and students. The parents, maybe not so much.The reason I like the end of the year so much is because it is such a clean break. At no point during the regular school year do I [...]
An Open Letter to Teachers Seeking Balance
Guest Author Dr. Jeff Duncan-AndradeWhen I talk with educators about the intense effort that will be required from them to be successful in our communities, it is nearly always the case that some of them will ask me: How can I do all of this and [...]
Giving Homework in Good Conscience
Two years ago I taught a “Strategic” 10th grade English class. “Strategic” is the No Child Left Behind term for students far below basic. Before that it was called “Sheltered.” A hundred different schools have a hundred different names [...]
Music—Probably the Worst Thing Out There
I was in Argentina for three weeks this year. My wife and I were checking into a hotel, and the young man helping us behind the counter was in his early twenties. There was a radio on behind him, and when a new song began to play, he smiled and [...]
The Myth of the After School Conversation
Six Tips on How to Have the Talk I love it. I love it love it love it when I hear people give their two cents about how we should handle our worst students in our worst public schools.Whether it is idle chat I overhear at Starbucks, or on a [...]
Teaching For Real
In the first month of my student-teaching, two kids got stabbed right outside of my classroom. The school went on lockdown. The police, fire department, and paramedics were called. My master teacher and I kept teaching as if it was normal. Actually, [...]