Potential. As a teacher, you see it every day: in your students, in your fellow teachers, in your school. There is another place, though, that may not come to mind when you think of potential: your classroom environment. A new study by Stalford University in Manchester, England found that the classroom environment can affect student…
Tag Archive for students
Tough Times Ahead for Some Young Scholars
Tough times ahead for some young scholars. How some districts are responding.
School’s out — and so are crucial meals
(Photo: Helen H. Richardson / The Denver Post file via Getty Images)
While most students leave their classrooms happy for the summer break, some parents will fret about how to feed their children without meals provided through schools.
Graduation is a Time for Reflection
Why teaching is the best job there is, but more than that, why teachers are the best people.
How do you feel about your graduating students? Is it bittersweet?
I’ve learned in the past three years that there’s no room for vanity in teaching, no time to over-think or be too self-conscious. I can’t hide in the shadows and hope nobody notices me. I have to be in charge – I don’t have a choice to do otherwise. There’s no one else to talk for me, I have to do it myself. Because of that, I am more confident in myself now than I’ve ever been in my life. I thank my students for pushing me, fighting me, challenging me, for being so smart that I can’t slack ever, even a little.
An Excellent Example of Classroom Management
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgk-719mTxM?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=281]
You need to watch this excellent example of classroom management. A lot of teachers on Tumblr spent time watching this whole video, even though it’s the better part of an hour. Pretty amazing to watch this young teacher and how well he gets this class started. Also, amazing to think about how much teaching will change once videos of excellent classroom techniques are more widely available.
[Via msleahhbic: ambedu: hithertokt: markct: oilsandglitter]
Why Deadlines are Every Writer’s Secret Weapon
Camp NaNoWriMo is “an idyllic writer’s retreat, smack dab in the middle of your life.” In other words, you write a novel in the month of June! I’ve done it twice, and it’s just one more awesome summer activity for you — or your students. Check out this awesome post by founder Chris Baty. NaNoWriMo…
Summer Reflection
The school year is wrapping up and, as always, there is a lot to think about. Teachers, students, and the classroom have been on our minds all year long. How will you support your students as they enter finals? Do you have summer plans for yourself? How will you reflect on your semester? How will…
Thought-Provoking Questions for Students: via it’s snix
This is a fabulous thread about questions you can use to engage more deeply with the students in your class. They are real people with hearts as well as minds, and sometimes knowing more on what’s going on in their world can help you understand and relate to them, as well as instruct them more effectively. We’re all for making more classrooms more human AND more effective. Great post!
What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready?
The crazy thing — what we like to think about — is what if the system DID become better and our graduates were college and work ready? How much could we accomplish? We think the field is wide open and things WILL change. Yeah, we might be naive optimists, but we still believe it.
What Does It Really Mean to Be College and Work Ready? Community colleges expect little of first-year students — and get even less, concludes the National Center on Education and The Economy.
The report paints a grim picture.
High school graduates have trouble reading textbooks written at the…

On Our Way
Classrooms are often the last place that see the impact of revolutionary new technology. In 2012, that started to change. Today there are a whole host of new technologies which impact educators including Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), online textbooks, Khan Academy, increasing numbers of teachers using Twitter, Edmodo, Pinterest and Tumblr, and last but certainly…