“Go to college.” It’s a phrase we’ve heard in every stage of our lives so it has been given little thought. We have given it so little thought in fact that as a society have come to accept it as an eternal truth. Playing devil’s advocate I would like to take a deeper look into [...]
What Does It Mean to Be Competent?
Many schools strive to generate students that are successful and high achieving. I’m sure most of you would agree with that. However, those observations have led me to the following questions: Is it more important to be successful in school or to be a competent individual? Further, why aren’t competence and academic success synonymous? I [...]
Continue Reading →Become A Teacher If…
This is a follow up post to “Don’t Become A Teacher If…” You know you can do better than the ones that you had. “You have an earnest desire to save the world.” Daniel Quinn, Ishmael You believe that every student should be afforded the ability to succeed regardless of their behavior, home life, past [...]
TED ED Goes Into Beta
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve likely heard of TED talks. These brief (usually about 18 minutes) engaging talks seek to share innovations and inspire us. The videos often contain powerful messages for both adults and students. Well, TED has just released its new education portal into beta. It’s called TEDed, and it is [...]
Continue Reading →Don’t Become a Teacher If…
Don’t become a teacher if… You don’t like second chances. Our students not only deserve them, they’ll need a third, fourth, and fifth chance usually. You like doing the same thing everyday. You don’t like collaborating. You can’t close your door to the world anymore, teachers work with teachers in their buildings and from around [...]
Continue Reading →Note from a frustrated college applicant
This is a guest post from a current high school Senior in Pennsylvania. I am in the glory years of my life, as I see it. I am 18 years old, come from a loving family, was blessed with a natural charm, and will never have as little responsibility again in my life as I [...]
Continue Reading →Digital stories, just part of the job
After reading a thought-provoking article about an ELL instructor who ended up becoming a Computer teacher through his persistent effort to integrate technology. I am inspired with my current guest to do the same despite an impossible workload, unimaginable responsibilities, and a non-existent budget. Before this sounds like a vent session I want to state [...]
Being a Connected Educator Shrinks the World
I would define myself as a connected educator. I use Twitter, Google Reader, Google +, and lots of other social services to dialogue with hundreds of educators across the country. We swap resources, war stories, and classroom experiences. My relationships, exchanges and patterns are highly non-linear, and they respond to my needs and interests. However, [...]
Shame Game – Revisited
Today, a section of our upcoming state exams were delivered to the school. As I unpacked the exams and placed them in the safe, my principal and I discussed the power that was held within 250 square inches of bubble wrap. At this day and age, this bubble wrap, not to be unsealed until the day [...]
Sir Ken Robinson Got One Thing Right… Now You Fill in the Blanks
What is our current “economic imperative”? As Sir Ken Robinson points out in this famous talk (at least famous to educators), our educational system was designed in part for the the “economic imperative” at the time that had many people working in factories and assembly lines their whole life. If they learned to follow directions [...]