There are two types of students. Those who do well and those who wish they did well. In mathematics, particularly, there is a societal acceptance when even college-graduated adults shrug their shoulders and admit, "I'm just not good at math."  Few would admit, "I'm just not a good reader." But some do reveal, "I don't enjoy or partake in reading except when I have to". As the focus on subjects and tests overshadow the objectives of developing life-long learners, these are the results. …

There is a continuing conservative direction expressed by the federal administration that feels to us to be exclusive while at the same time public schools struggle to be inclusive. Questioning beliefs is a good thing. Reexamining past practice helps to update, modernize, refine some things and abandon others. However, beginning with accusation and fear is not a productive path. As we've shared before, we believe what is happening in the world outside of schools will arrive within its…

We know of no leadership training program leading to certification that focuses on courage. What is courage? How is it developed? Does it strengthen in risk taking, in failure or success? And, we guess, an essential question arises of whether or not leadership calls for courage. Or is skill and knowledge enough? A lucky candidate may come across a professor who includes an investigation of courage in her coursework or who tells stories of experiences where courage was invoked. We…

The more you study K-12, the more you will be astonished at the control that our Education Establishment has on every aspect of our society.

 Here is his weird injurious method, analyzed and explained in dozens of books, but kept perpetually in place by the interlocking powers-that-be. I've started to think the correct name is The Illiteracy Matrix.

 in any event, children are subjected to instruction that does not work. Typically the children have a lot of…

7 Must DO Things Before 8 A.M.

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PIGS DON’T LAY EGGS BUT LEADERSHIP IS INTERVENTION

Apart from intervention, the past is the future. Past performance reflects…

Why don’t teachers use Minecraft?

AI IS MAKING IT EXTREMELY EASY FOR STUDENTS TO CHEAT

Top 3 Trends Affecting U.S. Test Preparation Market Through 2021

• By Richard Chang
• 07/06/17

The top three market trends fueling the test preparation market in the…

It appears that more than in the past, current political happenings and the actions of the President find their way into our minds and our blog. As local school leaders, can you allow yourself to say what you don't mean or something that is totally untrue? Can you be flippant and forgiven? Can you surround yourself with chaos and deem yourself successful? These privileges of the POTUS do not find their way into local leadership arenas. Nor should they. But, beware, they may be finding…

LARRY FERLAZZO’S WEBSITES OF THE DAY…

…For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL

The hidden cost of an achievement-oriented curriculum…

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…