Tag Archives: achievement
School Productivity: Happiness Matters
If I were to ask where happy cows come from, would you answer “California” like my teenaged son and my husband both did? When I inquired about how they know that, their reply was, “from the commercial.” If you watch television at all, you’ve probably seen that advertisement. It’s rather engaging, actually, because the cows are conversing and truly seem content. Since I was raised on a dairy farm in America’s Dairyland, I wonder if Calif. has data to back up that claim. I think that our Wis. cows are happy, too. My brother, who still lives on the family farm, actually hired a cow psychologist some years back to advise him on ways to make the cows more comfortable. Happier cows, they figured, would produce more milk. I laughed, really, to think that such a job even existed and again, I have to ask for data. How can someone really support the claim that cows prefer to lie down on a slightly-elevated incline anyway? Continue reading
Making Parents Allies
Involved parents are crucial for student success. Many become and stay involved in very helpful ways, especially in an era of diminishing resources. In many schools, parent volunteers offer added supervision, mentoring and tutoring. Increasingly, strong PTO’s conduct fundraisers to support extracurricular activities otherwise subject to the budget ax. Although most parents appreciate our efforts, few truly understand the energy needed to teach. Many parents, themselves overwhelmed by the stress of life, have little patience for hearing about problems from their children or about their children. It is increasingly common for many to react with defensiveness and anger when we express our concerns, and they are quick to blame educators when their children complain to them about a perceived injustice. Continue reading
Recognize Student Achievement, both in and out of School
Two of the best hours of my teaching career occurred on a Saturday morning at a dirt bike track. I went to watch my student Sean, whom I’d had in class before. He was a junior and still struggling in my English class. I was a couple of years older and a whole lot wiser than I had been Sean’s freshman year.
We butted heads two years before. I wanted Sean to turn in homework, but he didn’t want to do anything. I begged, pleaded, and called his mother when she finished waiting tables. I praised each little step Sean took in the right direction and silently gnashed my teeth when those steps didn’t turn into progress. He passed English 9, but only because I pushed and pulled him through it every day. Continue reading
Want to Boost Test Scores? Wish Your Students Good Luck
Ben Goldacre is a medical doctor in the U.K. who writes a column in The Guardian called “Bad Science” and has a blog of the same name. Goldacre takes pride in debunking the pseudo-scientific claims from the dietary supplements, baby genius, and cosmetics industries.
Despite the fact that Dr. Goldacre doesn’t believe in the amazing health benefits and antioxidant powers of chocolate, I think that his conclusinons are sound, expecially those about the mind’s incredible response to belief.
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? Continue reading
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. Continue reading
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.
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.” Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Students Online: Time Wasters or Innovators?
Your students are spending a lot of their free time online. Think of the number of hours you estimate they spend online. Double it. The doubled number is probably closer to the truth.
According to the Norton Online Living Report 2009, parents believe their children spend 21 hours online. The reality is that students in twelve countries reported spending 39 hours online. Don’t tell me these kids don’t have time to finish their assignments or clean their rooms. Continue reading
