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

Oct 09 2015

The Crisis of Multicultural Education- Part 1

Can you step back from your own mind and thus understand all things? – The Tao te Ching Can you? Can you deny your own mind, your own consciousness, in order to have infinite understanding? Here, the Tao, the way, is referring to the realm of the soul where, through meditation and aesthetic practice, one Read More

Jul 21 2015

Unconscious Bias Part 1: Traditional Family Structure

Do you have an inclusive approach to teaching? An inclusive approach includes all students and fosters equal educational opportunities for all. You probably answered yes. At the word ‘inclusion’ most teachers think about things like non-white students, students who are differently abled or those who need a little extra help to grasp concepts. But what 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

Jun 22 2015

4 Ways to Create Better Tests

All teachers create tests, a type of assessment. Assessment can be used to improve student learning and teacher instruction, as in the case of formative assessment. After instruction, teachers use summative assessment to find out if students have mastered curricula aims. Most teachers create their own assessments for classroom use or use tests created by Read More

Jun 15 2015

4 Ways to Teach Math with Precision

Some students in the math methods class were pissed. I read the comments to find out why. One comment summed it up, ‘She wanted everything to be so exact even though we were just doing elementary.’ They were talking about teachers being precise when writing and speaking about math with elementary students. I’ve been thinking Read More

Jun 08 2015

7 Tips for Teaching a Great College Summer Course

So you’re teaching a course or two this summer. Most colleges have a lot of fun stuff going on during the summer. Summer is a time of free concerts on campus. There are summer camps for big and little kids, internships, and volunteer opportunities. A big easy. Most students expect a summer course to mirror Read More

May 31 2015

Using Tests to Guide Teaching Isn’t All-Bad

You’ve heard about all the disadvantages of teaching to standardized tests or assessments. Some educators use the content and skills that will be on a standardized test to plan classroom instruction. It narrows instruction to only what’s on the test. Once instruction is focused on the test, the creativity and dynamism of teaching is reduced. Read More

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