The Importance of Students Feeling “Known” 

“Feeling valued as a member of the school community means believing that people genuinely care about who you are as an individual,” says consultant Russell Quaglia in this interview with Lawrence Hardy in American School Board Journal. “The percentage is low because teachers do not show students that they care about them in ways that are perceptible to students… Of course teachers care – they just…

The short version is this: Common Core is a federal takeover of American education, probably not a good thing in itself. However, if the Education Establishment had been doing a good job for the last 50 years, we might feel confident they would improve matters. But why would the same people, given much more power, suddenly start doing a good job???

I think they'll continue doing the same bad job or even worse. But the amount of jargon, hype and malarkey will…

Not Very Giving

By ROB REICH

NY Times

Published: September 4, 2013 81 Comments…

Who Will Prosper in the New World

http://www.teacherstechworkshop.com/2013/09/infographic-impact-of-digital.html

The Problem with Using Raw Test Scores to Evaluate Schools

In this Education Gadfly article, Michael Petrilli uses the dismal 2013 test results of Democracy Prep, a high-poverty New York City middle school (fewer than 10 percent were proficient on the state’s new Common Core-aligned tests) to illustrate the problem with using just test scores – the percent of students scoring proficient and above – to “grade” schools. This school would seem to…

the becoming radical

Public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University

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After 30 years as  a Science Coordinator and Science Teacher in Great Neck Schools, I have seen a lot of technology advances in the classroom. I retired 2 years ago and have been searching for a new technology to develop for schools. Eureka- I found it!!!! I am now offering Professional Development and support training for 3D Printing enthusiasts in Long  Island schools. It has been said that 3D Printing is "the next big thing". I quite agree. Please visit our website - …

The Road from Mississippi to Harvard

In this moving New York Times article, Justin Porter reflects on his journey from a small Mississippi high school to Harvard. As he contemplated his early-acceptance letter, he says he felt “trapped between the two worlds in front of me. One held seemingly unlimited opportunity – full scholarship, career advancement, travel possibilities. But what would I sacrifice in exchange? My mother and I have never…

http://www.teacherstechworkshop.com/2013/08/awesome-free-templates-to-create.html

Why Education Is Not Like Medicine

Ed Week

There are three bad ideas popular among education writers in the United States right now. First is the idea that American public education should learn from the medical profession. Second is…

It's Back to School Time and professional development is on the menu with specialties, such as instructional practices, protocols, and materials to impact teaching and learning. School districts and consultants prepare for the event to inspire staff to embrace…