When the President Trump uses the words "hell" and "cesspool", encourages scouts to boo a previous president (who was a Boy Scout), expresses disdain for his Attorney General and his defeated opponent, and relies on hyperbole as if it were truth, what is he teaching? When he asserts that he is being presidential, what does that mean? What are the Boy Scouts and other young people learning about behaviors that are acceptable from those with power and influence? These are the ones we use…

You don't need to be a mathematician to examine if algebra is important. School leaders come from a variety of the disciplines taught in classrooms. We, ourselves, are from the social studies and special education backgrounds in which we began as teachers. But it doesn't take an expert in mathematics to understand the educational value of algebra in high school. And it doesn't take an expert in policy to understand that the arguments for eliminating algebra as a required subject is an…

How much do educators know and understand about creating graduates who are career ready? What are the skills and knowledge students need for a career over the next forty years? Are our minds full of traditional careers and not thinking about the careers that today's students will be entering? The issue of career ready is one that applies to all students. College is not an end in itself ... at least for most of us. Georgetown University's Center for Education and the Workforce reports…

Higher standards and expectations are expected to facilitate the preparation for college and career.  As educators, we are familiar with what being prepared for college means. Students have to be prepared as skilled readers and writers, adept at mathematical thinking, able to function in an environment that expects them to be independently responsible for their learning, and have a level of maturity that supports the decisions they are asked to make. Students have to know how to live…

As educators most of our actions and observations are based on words. We communicate with them and focus on what we believe they mean and represent. Words can mean different things to different people in different situations. Words matter. The actions that accompany those words matter also. Beginning with the manner in which students are greeted at the door as they enter schools, we impact the state of mind they will bring to their learning. Some students are met with metal detectors…

No words can express the need for models for minority children better than those of SCOTUS Justice Sonia Sotomayor:

"When a young person, even a gifted one, grows up without proximate living examples of what she may aspire to become---whether lawyer, scientist, artist, or leader in any realm - her goal remains abstract.  Such models appear in books or on the news, however inspiring or revered, are ultimately too remote to be real, let alone influential. But a role model in the…

Announcing: my book of 65 education articles titled Saving K-12 to be published mid-November. Preorder after Labor Day.

 Books are being printed now. I just stopped by a local art gallery to set up a book-signing party (in Virginia Beach). I’m contacting radio shows, websites, and so on. I want to do what I can to promote this book. I don’t think there’s much hope for K-12 unless a great many people reassess what’s going on. I…

One of my earliest school memories is from the third grade. I call it 'The Kickball Incident' and I still remember it like it was yesterday, not the seven years ago it really was.

I have an autism spectrum disorder (at the time my diagnosis was Asperger syndrome). One of the things I have trouble with is understanding things when there's no logical explanation given or when someone repeats themselves instead of trying to explain in a different way.…

8 Fun Ways to Become a Better Teacher This Summer   

“It’s easy for you. You have the whole summer to enjoy without thinking about your job. Who wouldn’t want a vacation that long?” You get that a lot, don’t you? All teachers do. People think you’re going on at least two vacations. The rest of the time? Oh, you’ll just spend it binge-watching TV shows on Netflix. Unfortunately (or…

This fall, two remarkable young men, seniors at Fondy, approached Mr. Scottberg, the assistant principal charged with the role of scheduling that hour.  The students, Isaiah Zubke and Kevin Wuest identified some of the difficulties with our current scheduling program, including the ability for students to "override" the program.  Isaiah and Kevin came with a solution-focused perspective.  As young entrepreneurs, Isaiah and Kevin Co-founded Rebentify Technologies and offered their…

Public education is a wonder. We have managed through federal and local funds to provide a free education to the children in our nation.  It is an expectation that a student will be educated, free of charge, no matter where they live, no matter their income. But, how do schools meet the needs of all students when they are structured so all students fit as fully as possible into one single design? How do schools manage to reach the invisible children when they are built to address the…

 HOW I TEACH

The 2017 National Teacher of the Year on the mom who changed how she…