Spoken to an educator recently? Opened a newspaper? Then, no doubt you’ve heard about the startling increase in remarkably cruel, insensitive & flat-out rude behavior kids are showing on a regular basis. Group-think is short-circuiting basic decency with alarming regularity. At my middle school in recent months, as in schools …
A few weeks ago, I read this Medium post by Dr. Shayla R. Griffin, which I posted my initial reflections on, and which has had an enormous impact on my thinking over the intervening weeks. My takeaway: There is a population that wants schools to open: parents working from home need space; …
Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy post on block scheduling is a quick dive into the block-scheduled classroom. She reviews what a block schedule refers to—1½ to 2 hour long classes, with fewer classes meeting each day—and finishes strong by quickly presenting five models for using the long block of time. …
Our grade 6 Country Fair project is getting underway in the next few weeks. Country Fair Night is a great annual event at the school—think “Science Fair” for Social Studies—for parents & other involved adults to come see the kids, and alumni often return to sample the food! For Country …
Recently, there have been reports about another grade-schooler suspended for pointing his fingers like a gun (see the Ohio Dispatch story). I often dismiss these stories because (as anyone in education knows, with horror) the media “coverage” is usually one side of the story, or less. Schools often won’t comment due …
Even before there was a state law, my school took on bullying. We treated it as harassment, holding out the spectre of serious legal consequences if cruelty continued or for any retaliation. I argued, then as now, that school is a civil right, and anyone interfering with that is stealing …
