Some of us have no problem with friending students on Facebook. Others of us are not so sure this is a good idea.
In her blog post, Emily Wall poses the pros and cons of interacting with students using social media. Although she is a postsecondary educator, the post contains information applicable to grade school educators, as well.
If the link above does not work, copy and paste the following URL into your browser:
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Preparing our children to adapt to change is probably the most critical lesson we can pass on, whether as teachers or parents (whom I define as the first and most important educators). The following blog was brought to my attention by Kate M.B. (thanks, Kate!).
In the posting, the blogger, Leo Babauta, states:
How then to prepare our kids for a world that is unpredictable, unknown? By teaching them to adapt, to deal with change, to be prepared for anything by not preparing them for anything specific.
Here are the nine skills needed to maintain adaptability, according to the author.
Reflect on these skills. Teach them. Start a conversation with colleagues, with students, on what these skills mean. Especially, use these skills to foster independent and critical thinking, as skills that foster mere following and acceptance of the status quo are the greatest danger to individual freedom and a democratic society.
Here are some questions to get the discussion going:
Interestingly, these are also the types of skills that help teachers maintain classroom management. Yes, independence fosters learning and better classroom environments. But that’s another blog…
Let me know what you think of the blog by coming back and posting a comment. I want to know what you think.
DailyGood: 9 Essential Skills Kids Should Learn, by Leo Babauta.
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http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?sid=194
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I haven’t read this book, but this book review puts it at the top of my non-fiction reading list.
Will you be reading it, too?
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These days, it is popular to declare that American education is “broken,” that kids do not receive the proper education, and that many of them are dropping out of school. But some people believe that the answer to some of these problems is just to have more schooling, not less. John Gatto, a teacher for more than 30 years and winner of the New York City and New York State Teacher of the Year awards opposes this principle and actually says we should have less school, not more. He asserts that American education actually works perfectly for what it was designed to do. It was designed to create a docile, friendly workforce to meet the growing needs of corporate capitalism. It ensures a workforce that will rely on corporate institutions for their income, stimulation and self-esteem and will learn to find meaning in their lives solely in the production and…
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Is education in for another 1980s-style round of educational software that goes nowhere? The author says, “This is a clear sign of a bubble in education technology.” What do you think? Ride the bubble, or burst it?
Nick DeSantis of the Chronicle of Higher Education writes about the incredible surge in investing in education technology start-ups. While people in the article claim ‘this time is different, I am not so sure. (I was at the University of Chicago when a bunch distinguished professors created UNext.com during the late 1990s — BIG BUST just like the startup I joined in 1999). From DeSantis:
Investments in education-technology companies nationwide tripled in the last decade, shooting up to $429-million in 2011 from $146-million in 2002, according to the National Venture Capital Association. The boom really took off in 2009, when venture capitalists pushed $150-million more into education-technology firms than they did in the previous year, even as the economy sank into recession.
“The investing community believes that the Internet is hitting education, that education is having its Internet moment,” said Jose Ferreira, founder of the interactive-learning company Knewton. Last…
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What are your state and community doing about the education of homeless students?
As more and more families become homeless, more and more children have nowhere to go to school. This is one solution that seems to be making progress in keeping otherwise school-less students educated. See what Milwaukee is doing.
ED Program Helps Put Homeless Students on Right Track | ED.gov Blog.
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http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/03/ed-program-helps-put-homeless-students-on-right-track/
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Are you a teacher of English, especially at the middle- or high-school level?
Here is a great blog on various forms of waking. The site itself (http://dailypost.wordpress.com) has great articles for helping decipher the rules of irregular verbs, containing items often infused with a substantial amount of humor.
Being grammatically challenged myself, I find this to be a really helpful and amusing site for my continued edification!
Click on the link above, or copy and paste the URL below into your browser:
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/wake-woke-awake-awoken/
However you get there, enjoy!!
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Although normally I do not support associations affiliated with direct collective bargaining, NEA is not just a political group; it shares resources that help make teaching better.
If you “like” NEA Today on Facebook, you can download a short e-book with links to wonderful places and resources for teaching. The links are embedded in the text of the publication, and the text is organized by topic or subject. Really easy to use, and really helpful to those of us who are electronically challenged!
If the link above does not work, copy and paste the URL below to your browser:
https://www.facebook.com/neatoday?sk=app_137541772984354&app_data=dlt
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How safe are your community schools and colleges?
NPR presents a fact-based article supported by solid research and education statistics.
“When you hear a news announcer say, ‘In an all-too-familiar story’ or call these incidents ‘epidemic,’ I think that’s where this impression comes from,” says [Dewey Cornell, a clinical psychologist and education professor at] the University of Virginia.
Read the article below. It makes one feel better about American education.
Violence In Schools: How Big A Problem Is It? : NPR.
If the link above does not work, copy and past the following URL into your browser:
http://www.npr.org/2012/03/16/148758783/violence-in-schools-how-big-a-problem-is-it?sc=fb&cc=fp
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Take part in the conversation about schools. Schools, after all, are communities within our greater communities, and need full participation of the greater communities to function effectively and efficiently. As a researcher, I can tell you that studies show the best schools are within communities that participate as equal partners in the educational system. Money has nothing to do with it–that is, richer communities per se do not do better than less wealthy communities with active involvement of parents and community residents. It’s the involvement, not the money.
If you are not already participating in the functioning of your neighborhood’s schools, get involved now. If you are already active, I salute you!
On Thursday, March 29, at 4:00 PM Eastern (1:00 Pacific), take part in a webinar on Family/School/Community Partnerships. Register at the link below.
Family-School-Community Partnerships : Priority Schools Campaign.
If the link did not work, copy and paste the following link into your browser.
http://neapriorityschools.org/family-school-community-partnerships
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Last night, I watched a segment on 60 minutes that featured a former-Wall-Street-pundit-turned-online-tutor. What started out as just helping his niece grew into a nice little non-profit organization to help students learn–in and out of classrooms!
That reminded me of this little project I came across on YouTube several months ago. It basically encapsulates my ideas of what teaching is.
Watch, enjoy, and think about how to prepare for the future…
If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste the URL below into your browser:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTUDczwtyc&feature=related
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Join the Challenge!
Write of Passage 