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• October: It's Not Just for Halloween Anymore--Teacher Week

  After a miserable winter last year, summer just seemed too short here in the Midwest.  To combat the cold dreariness of the past few days, I decided to go holiday-hunting. I found a few great reasons to celebrate.  First up:  National Classroom Teacher Week!  (I teach online, so I guess this is not my week.)I'm celebrating by remembering Read More... Posted Oct 08 2008, 11:00 AM by Shannon LC Cate with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: education, bullying, teachers, teaching, Shannon LC Cate, National Classroom Teacher Week, grammar

• They Say: To Teach Teens, You Really Have to Scare Them

  Think you're smarter than a fifth grader? At the very least, you learn differently. Scientists in the Netherlands have published a study that proves the brain is yet another part of the body that experiences significant changes during the tween years.  Published in the Journal of Neuroscience this month, the study by developmental psychologist Dr Eveline Crone and colleagues from the Leiden Brain and Cognition Lab shows a positive attitude helps younger kids cotton onto concepts. But around 12, the brain starts to develop the ability to learn from mistakes. So being presented with the words, "no, you're wrong," is actually better for teens than a slap on the back. No wonder - it's what they'll be telling their parents for the next eight years. Read More... Posted Sep 30 2008, 11:57 AM by JeanneSager with | with no comments Filed under: education, teenagers, teaching, learning, intelligence, brain, Jeanne Sager, cognitive abilities

• Interview: Larry Martinek of Mathnasium - Part 1

  Do your kids hate math? Well, they don't. They may think they do, but what they really hate is "being confused and intimated by math." That's what Larry Martinek, the creator of the Mathnasium Method, believes, and after talking to him, I'm inclined to believe it as well. Read More... Posted Jul 18 2008, 02:30 PM by Brett Singer with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: school, science, teaching, math, interview, Brett Singer, larry martinek, mathnasium, teach, mathematics

• The Best Way to Educate: Separate the Boys From the Girls?

  Do boys and girls learn differently? Some say yes, which is why several public schools -- including a few described in this Washington Post article -- are trying same-sex classes. Some of the teachers quoted in this story report they are seeing positive results for the boys, who seem to benefit from classroom settings that allow them the freedom to move around, as well as the girls, who, in one case, thrive in a dimly lit classroom with lots of flowers on the windowsills.   Read More... Posted Jun 16 2008, 09:04 AM by Jen Chaney with | with no comments Filed under: education, teaching, gender discrimination, boys vs. girls, same-sex classrooms

• Teacher Says Obama is Bad Man

  I didn't major in elementary education. But I do know the following three tenets of teaching kids: 1. Don't share personal political opinions with them. 2. Don't tell them that certain political leaders are "scary." 3. Don't say that those political leaders are "scary" because they are Muslim, especially if they are not Muslim. Apparently a fifth grade teacher in Delaware did not get that memo. She came under fire recently for telling her class of 10-year-olds that she would not vote for Barack Obama because he is a Muslim and "is scary." Now, if the recent Rev. Wright/Obama flap has taught us anything, it's that the Senator from Illinois is Christian. But that aside, let's get two things straight. Muslims are not, as a rule, scary. Consequently, Obama isn't scary, unless being intelligent, articulate and charismatic is frightening. If that's the case, then someone should put him in the next "Saw" movie ASAP. Read More... Posted Mar 27 2008, 08:33 AM by Jen Chaney with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: teaching, barack obama, elementary school, election, presidential race

• Gifted Kids Left Behind in Schools

  Just at a time when I'm considering taking my kids from the Waldorf school they've always attended to go to the nearest public school instead comes this news: gifted kids aren't being supported or challenged, and in fact are rather being neglected in today's post "No Child Left Behind" public school scenario. I was a so-called gifted kid. In my California school, that meant a three-week stint in the 4th grade where some of us got to skip classes and instead sit around with the cool Gifted Teacher Guy and discuss The Hobbit and think up ways to protect a raw egg from being thrown off the school's roof in the exciting culmination of our three-week vacation (the winner got to keep the rat we were studying).   Read More... Posted Aug 20 2007, 12:07 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 18 comment(s) Filed under: education, no child left behind, gifted and talented, teaching, gifted kids

• Teacher Who Threw Feces At Boy May Keep Job

  The idea of corporal punishment in schools drives me totally insane.  The idea of having teachers discipline kids by spanking them or rapping their knuckles with a ruler seems contrary to the important life lessons that we expect teachers to impart on our children.  Sure, I know teaching is a rough job.  My mom was a public school teacher for 20 years and she'd often share with me her frustrations in dealing with kids who were disruptively rowdy in her classes.  However,  Maria Pantalone, a Toronto high school principal, seems to have gone a little overboard.  According to news reports, Pantalone confessed to throwing human poop at a 12-year-old boy.  Not only that but it seems that the court is ruling that she can get her job back!  The circumstances of the incident have been sealed by the court because the victim is a minor. But in the principal's defense, the judge seems to think the circumstances were exceptional, and according to Pantalone, "I couldn't take it anymore. It was total, total frustration." Yeah, I get it.  Some kid was a brat and you lost your shit.  Then, you threw it at him.  But does that mean you deserve to get your job back?  I don't think so.  Do you?  Posted Apr 08 2007, 09:04 AM by MetroDad with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: discipline, corporal punishment, teaching, bad teachers

• School Segregates Students to Teach the Test

  The No Child Left Behind Act has schools freaked. That's the only explanation I can take from this: Mount Diablo High School in Northern California has taken to separating students based on race to give them assembly pep talks about improving their test scores. The principal said, "Blah blah blah -- I'm not racist, I swear." While parents and students said the alarming policy smacks of modern-day segregation. "Teaching the test" is bad enough -- it robs students of the fundamental building blocks that teach how to learn, not what to learn. But segregating students and shouting slogans like "What up white people!" is beyond the pale. If this is just one whack-job school having fun at the expense of students, fine -- fire the morons in charge and move on. But if this is just an example of the lengths schools feel they must go to in order to not get left behind, add this to the long list of reasons I can't wait for 2008. Posted Mar 12 2007, 02:03 PM by Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: education, news, school districts, no child left behind, high school, schools, teaching

• Kids Learn Better When They Do it Themselves, Study Says

  So my dad was right all these years (I sort of hate that).  He was a hands-off sort of dad, saying frequently that you couldn't learn anything by someone telling you about it, you had to figure it out for yourself.  This usually manifested in me, say, looking up words he used that I didn't know in the dictionary rather than him simply telling me what they meant.  It used to infuriate me, but it turns out?  He was right. You know how I know?  First, there's my own kids and my observations of them.  And then there's me.  I think clearly that if someone struggles with a concept and then masters it themselves, it will stick far better than if they simply had heard someone describe it.  But now?  A new study supports this idea.   Word-learning strategies of a hundred toddlers were studied, and they found that the kids learned best by building on what they already knew when presented with a new concept.  Which completely blows the whole teaching model we've been using of sitting through a boring lecture, being "instructed", totally out of the water.  But my dad could have told you that. Posted Mar 09 2007, 07:15 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: children, kids, toddlers, teaching, learning, words

• Longer School Days, Better Grades?

  Ferris Bueller's worst nightmare might be the answer to bad grades and dismal test scores. CNN highlights a new trend - extending the length of the school day. The article reports that on average, students in the U.S. spend less time in the classroom than their counterparts in many other industrialized countries. Programs in Massachusetts and other states increase the number of hours per day that students spend in class, as well as the number of days - some programs have kids in school on Saturdays, and may have their summer vacations shortened. In some cases, students end up spending 50% more time in school than they would in traditional programs. Read More... Posted Feb 27 2007, 08:16 AM by JasonAvant with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: academic, education, school, school districts, no child left behind, teachers, schools, teaching

• Getting Your Kids to Clean Up

  There are a multitude of things that have taken me off guard about parenting. The one that is bothering me today is how difficult it is to teach your children how to clean. I'm not talking about mopping or cleaning the toilet or making a bed with hospital corners. I just mean teaching a two year old (or in my case two two year olds) how to pick up their own toys. When I was younger I always figured that the parents that cleaned up after their children were the good parents and my mom was so lazy that she made me clean up my own room. Boy, was I wrong. I could clean my living room in about 10 minutes and it would look decent. If I try to get my kids to pick up their block and put their shoes in the closet it will probably take me about 45 minutes, and that doesn't even cover half of the mess. I am so tired of fighting with my children every single day about picking up toys. I am looking for motivation. So far I have used threats and flat out bribery and neither are working all that well. Does anyone have any suggestions? Posted Feb 20 2007, 05:16 AM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 12 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, teaching, cleaning