Group Work: Do You Require It or Offer an Alternative?

In a recent Teaching Professor Blog post from education professor Maryellen Weimer, Weimer wrote about a group of higher education professors who had been discussing the merits of students working in groups and by themselves.

Weimer wrote about the usual dilemma that teachers face: shouldn’t teachers require students to complete at least some group work? After all, most professions require at least some group work. Isn’t it a disservice to students not to prepare them to work well with others?

Communicating with Parents and Community Stakeholders

Increasing the involvement of parent and community members is vital to school improvement for students and staff. It is in everyone’s best interest to continue to explore strategies and ideas that will facilitate increased involvement in ways that are positive, helpful, and sustainable. Many schools struggle with attempts to find solutions that work. Our students are the beneficiaries of our investment in successful strategies that work in K-12 schools to enrich and strengthen our relationships and communications with parents and other community members.

Should Every Student Go to College?

I read an article in the USA Today recently. The article posed the question, “What if a college education just isn’t for everyone?”

The author wrote about a student in Wis. who isn’t planning on attending college. High school junior Brian Crave is in an apprenticeship program instead – on his family’s own farm. He has morning classes at the high school and spends his afternoons working through an agricultural skills checklist. Instead of going to college, Crave plans to continue milking cows and plowing fields.

The Nation’s Private Public Schools – Part of the Achievement Gap Problem?

I read a study recently from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute called America’sPrivate Public Schools. According to the study, our public school system is supporting schools that are public in name, but are more exclusive than most private schools, teach no poor children, and have few minority students. In fact, according to the report, 1.7 million American children attend these private public schools.

5 Ways to Discourage Parent Communication

We all know that parents, as our students’ first teachers, have a tremendous amount of influence over our students. However, some of us aren’t terrific about communicating with parents. Instead of reaching out, we draw back.

Dodge phone calls and e-mails.

The situation: Look, I have seven classes with 25 kids in each one. With over 170 students, I don’t have time to use the restroom, let alone return a call. I get to my e-mail when I get to it. I have papers to grade, lessons to plan, and another class in 15 minutes. Maybe I’ll get to that phone call or e-mail after school. Tomorrow. No, wait. Friday.

Breaking Barriers: Unleashing the Potential of Black Males in School

“With education, I know I can go beyond my wildest dreams. With help from my teachers, family, and friends, the sky is the limit!” said 8th grader Zaniriusz. Zaniriusz lives in a community with a dropout rate above 50% for Black males, but aspires to graduate from college and return to his neighborhood to “build a new playground,” make sure “every family has air conditioners and heaters,” and “get rid of criminals and gangs.” He shared his experiences in “A Mile in My Shoes Writing Project: African-American Males Telling Their Own Stories.”

The Excellence Gap: A New Version of the Achievement Gap

Educators should give themselves a pat on the back: the achievement gap is narrowing. More kids are passing standardized tests and more schools are meeting NCLB’s requirements. That’s a huge achievement for teachers and schools, but most of all, it’s a huge achievement for the students themselves.

Except, along the way, we’ve forgotten some kids.

We’re doing well at the middle and that’s great, but the demographics have remained almost unchanged for students who excelled in education standards like reading and math.

Black Male Achievement: Incorporating the Community and Institutions in Black Male Academic Success

We all know that the time between the 7:30 morning bell and the 3 p.m. dismissal bell is pretty short. We try to make our classes, our rooms, our schools welcoming, safe, student-focused, and full of learning.

But when the final bell rings, the students exit the double doors and return to the world where they spend two-thirds of their time. If the students are urban Black males, chances are that they won’t graduate from high school (Livingston & Nahimana, 2006). There’s also a good chance that many of them have had a disciplinary referral this year (1 in 4), take remedial reading lessons, are enrolled in special education, have been expelled, score low on standardized tests, and have never seen the inside of a Gifted and Talented classroom (Whiting, 2006).

The Road to Burnout is Paved with Good Intentions

Burnout. It’s out there. Somewhere. And like a bad flu, it’s coming to get you.

Or is it?

Actually, no. It’s not coming at you. You might be moving toward it, but burnout isn’t something that lurks in shadows waiting to grab you. It’s really rather passive. It sits in front of you like a potted plant. In fact, it’s not scary at all. It might cast a large shadow over the conversations we have about teaching and educators, but it is quite frankly a rather benign little thing in some ways. Let me explain.