Nov 20 2016

Trump as a Teachable Moment

In this election bedtime story, the hardworking, but flawed, queen did not slay the orange dragon with the terrible roar. Instead, the villagers made the dragon their king and banished the queen to a cottage somewhere in Upstate New York. Many parents, caregivers, teachers, especially Clinton supporters, struggle to explain the outcome of the story Read More

Aug 31 2016

Wretched Summer: Talking about race, policing and terror in the classroom

Mass killings, police shootings, protests, refugees, racial and religious discrimination, and all the other heavy stuff going on this Summer makes me uneasy. Smartphones, through viral videos, tweets and the hyper-sharing of news articles and comments by populist pundits, bring this stuff into the hands and the heads of students at all levels. What ever Read More

Feb 05 2016

4 Ways to Reboot, Refocus and Recharge your Teaching

In the on-season, athletes train for long periods, enter competitions and win (or lose). During the off-season, they rest, meditate, do some physical prep for the next season like stretching and weight training, study their craft and reconnect with friends and family. What athletes like Serena Williams and Christiano Ronaldo do in the off-season is Read More

Feb 01 2016

“Does Spelling Count?”: Literacy, Math and Science

A colleague of mine, a biologist, (let’s call him Ken) teaches an upper-level college course on genetics. Course requirements include the usual—class participation, quizzes, exams, and …a scientific paper. Each semester, when Ken mentions the paper the classroom erupts in shrieks and murmurs. Immediately after the noise dies down, hands shoot into the air and Read More

Jan 11 2016

Does Social Class Matter in the Classroom?

Most teachers I ask say no. It doesn’t matter if students are wealthy, middle class or poor, they say. Then I ask other questions: Does what’s happening in the world affect the schoolhouse? Social media? Prejudice? Teachers always answer yes to these questions. Which brings us back to social class. Social class is a powerful force Read More

Dec 28 2015

Language, Citizenship and Power in the Classroom

Language is a contentious issue in education. Not only does language announce membership in a language group, a culture, a religion or nativity in a geographical area, language is connected to ideas about citizenship. Citizenship is central to the concept of mass schooling. Mass schooling is, literally, the education of the masses. More than 75% Read More

Oct 13 2015

The Crisis of Multicultural Education: Part II

Multicultural Dilemmas: The Nation-state and Identity Politics Inherent in the idea of globalism is the notion that the influence of cultural mores on individuals and groups might be reduced and replaced with a global culture. However, contemporary time is plagued with ethnic, religious and cultural balkanization and conflict that that run the gamut from relocating Read More

Jul 12 2015

Reflective Teaching and the Self

You teach your self. Who ever you are, who ever that ‘self’ is will determine the words and deeds you perform in the classroom. It’s really difficult to change the teaching self from the outside. Governments, district leaders and principals could mandate policies and training meant to change attitudes and instructional strategies. But in the Read More

Jul 06 2015

Teaching and Prejudice

Everyone has prejudices. Some judgment or attitude, for or against, an idea, a person or a thing. Prejudice isn’t just about race, ethnicity or culture. Think conservative vs liberal. The student in your class who you give a high grade because she reminds you of your daughter. These attitudes develop over time. And are often Read More

Jul 01 2015

Rubrics, In a Nutshell

What is a rubric? A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the standards on which judgment or decisions about a piece of work will be based. A good rubric… Tells you what you’ll be looking for to give a certain grade (or score) for a test or assignment. A rubric should say what skills Read More

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