How a chat with a former student reinforced and reaffirmed good teaching practices I walked into a local business yesterday and stood in line waiting my turn. As I stood there, I knew that I recognized the face and the voice of the customer service representative eagerly assisting others. As I progressed through the line,
Being proactive by communicating expectations of classroom behavior No need for a bull horn, the students could hear me shouting just fine. My voice was so hoarse after my first year, it sounded like I was constantly coming down with whooping cough. Expectations? Oh, my students were fully aware of the expectations … after they
0
Collecting student work to keep track of and reflect on accomplishments Recently, I offered a workshop in my district to teachers interested in creating digital portfolios of student work. My initial focus for the presentation was the digital concept of portfolios, but as I made my way further into my presentation it became clear to me that
0
How neuroscience can help us connect with adolescents Reading about the teenage brain is one thing, crawling inside the mind of an adolescent is quite another. As a veteran of adolescence and a current scholar of teenage education, I can now look back at my own experiences with a different understanding. For the next few
0
Why it’s not worth getting into a struggle with students It was the summer of 1998. I lived in a two room apartment with my now husband. The shower was in the kitchen. We drove clunker cars, scrounged change for take-out, and let me tell you, we were living our best life. We were young,
0
A successful school year starts—and continues—with knowing well the students we serve One of the highest forms of respect around the world is to prove to someone that we really know them, and that we see them as worth knowing. We can connect with the grumpiest of individuals when we prove such things, and, of
0
0