Why I take class time to teach perseverance (and let my fourth-graders write on their desks)

4 WAYS COACHING-MANAGERS LOWER STRESS AND SUCCEED WITH TOUGH CONVERSATIONS

Discomfort often tips people toward new…

Never forget the ambition and frenzy of the Communist International circa 1930. Lenin and Stalin wanted control of the planet. In some countries, they could aim for a military coup. But in any country, they could try to take over the weak, undefended targets such as the press and education.

 At the same time that the Communists were starving 5+ million people to death in the Ukraine, their sympathizers were…

Why wouldn't policy makers, business people, and those who have never lived a day in a public school think that if they opened the doors to competition, schools would improve? Here is why. It defies imagination that teachers working with students would work harder or better or differently if they were competing to keep them in their classrooms and schools.  It is offensive to think that we don't bring our biggest hearts and highest skill to the school and classroom every day. But,…

One size fits all doesn’t even work for something as simple as a t-shirt. So how can you expect that approach to work in a learning environment? Education is something personal in and of itself. Your students are going to take the things they learn and apply them to their everyday lives, and every one of their lives is going to be different. By personalizing…

Leaders have many functions to perform. That myriad of roles complicates the nature of the relationships a leader can develop and maintain within the organization and the community. Leaders will inevitably be faced with situations where they must require the faculty and staff to respond with immediate compliance. But, most issues and situations allow for the space and time to act with understanding and compassion, to be the lead listener.  …

 And also fixing it.

 My conclusion is that illiteracy in the United States is mostly a result of social engineering. John Dewey and the rest of his gang wanted all children to be in a muddle together. That is, after all, the central goal of socialism.

Reading has been badly taught for 85 years, with the results that millions of children don't read and often can't read.…

 In the wake of a bitter and unprecedented election cycle, and a wave of hate speech and bullying in American schools. it is hard not to feel discouraged. I wake up at night, fearful for the many communities targeted with hateful rhetoric and violence. Social media can help us repair communities and document incidents, but it can raises new questions for educators.

For example, a video of students in Royal Oaks, MI …

10 STEPS TO DOING LESS AND GETTING MORE DONE

You’re stressed out and over worked because it takes skill and courage to delegate…

It is disheartening to hear that leaders are preventing teachers from helping students make sense of what is happening in their country, their democracy, their news, their competing truths and the fuzzy lines between fact and speculation and interpretation. We remember when news was on once a day and it was for 30 minutes. Now news is 24/7 and that amount of time simply can't be filled with repeating the same facts and command an audience. So, we have commentators, not journalists or…

4 WAYS TO RECAPTURE THE LOST ART OF MAKING PEOPLE FEEL THEY MATTER

Ego’s cry is, “What…