4 learning lessons from the garden
Spring is in full bloom, and for many of us that means a reunification with our gardens. If you enjoy working in the outdoors...
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Spring is in full bloom, and for many of us that means a reunification with our gardens. If you enjoy working in the outdoors...
Once the school year has ended and students are no longer in class every day, it can be difficult for them to maintain the...
Caring connects kids to their school, their teachers, their learning, their families, their communities, to one another and to themselves. Therefore, creating and maintaining...
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”– Albert Schweitzer My daughter has the ideal work location. It’s...
For decades, in-class lectures have provided a serviceable way to relay information, but times are changing. Technology is shifting how we communicate information in...
Middle school has come to an end for many students as they graduate from eighth grade and anticipate moving on to high school. Transitioning...
Every student has a passion project inside, waiting to emerge if invited to do so. These dreams lie just beneath the surface, built on...
After nearly a decade as a classroom teacher in Oklahoma City Public Schools, I started feeling what all educators hope to avoid: burnout. It...
Students everywhere are taking pictures of the board. It is almost like a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to taking...
The recent finding that California tenure laws violate students’ constitutional rights to an education and should be struck down has sparked a debate that...
For students with disabilities, the Common Core State Standards have the potential to support access to inclusive education, rather than an education based on...
Have you ever been coached? Coaches can impact form, structure, content and meaning, regardless of the field in which they coach. I am blessed...
SmartBlog on Education’s monthly content award recognizes content written by educators, for educators that inspires readers to engage, innovate and discuss. SmartBrief Education editors...
“It is not the answer that enlightens but the question.”– Eugène Ionesco What if one day teachers walked into their classrooms and all their...
For most of us in the field of education, summer is a time that we wait for all year. During the months of July...
A recent high-school graduate and a credit-recovery teacher from Sweet Home High School in Oregon share their insights on career and technical education. Shela’s...
This past spring, I was asked to substitute teach in one of our first-grade classrooms. There were no guest teachers available that day so,...
One of the time-honored practices of school leaders is to visit classrooms and conduct teacher observations. These visits are intended to provide teachers with...
Conversations inside and outside of the kindergarten class begin on the first day through the use of Twitter. Twitter has been a way for...
As someone who worked in education for several years, I can tell you that one of my biggest obstacles was time — as in,...
When discussing my classroom cell phone policy with students at the beginning of the school year, I made what proved to be a mistake....
It is clear that education is going through an evolution/revolution due to technology and open sourcing. Our students have opportunities to do, make and...
Personalized learning is the latest buzzword in the field of education technology. At the recent ISTE conference, it was clear that with the rapid...
As a principal awaiting the start of school, I knew one thing for certain: There would be a lot problems in the year ahead....
How do we ensure that we have the best teachers in all of our schools? We’ve already taken the first step by acknowledging that...
Music and song are some of the most underused educational techniques. We know that musical intelligence is one of the eight identified intelligences of...
SmartBlog on Education’s monthly content award recognizes content written by educators, for educators that inspires readers to engage, innovate and discuss. SmartBrief Education editors...
School started this week. Excitement reigns — or maybe not. Schools and classrooms are a beehive of activity. Books are distributed. Bulletin boards are...
When California’s state legislature voted to provide one-time revenue in support of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the Smarter Balanced...
The worthwhile, monumental and ongoing challenge of ensuring that each of our students is learning has led to the widespread adoption of professional learning...
It is more important than ever that educational leaders work with and fully support their teachers. Every teacher wants to improve their practice and...
I recently had the pleasure of going fishing with three of my children on Lake Michigan. We chartered a fishing vessel and set sail...
SmartBlog on Education’s monthly content award recognizes content written by educators, for educators that inspires readers to engage, innovate and discuss. SmartBrief Education editors...
October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. Imagine the following scenario: There was a disease that plagued the population for a long time and...
This post is sponsored by Curriculum Associates Writing instruction took a back seat to reading during the No Child Left Behind era. Common core...
As I read education blogs, news editorials and Twitter, I sometimes am struck by the “us vs. them” mentality I see between veteran and...
We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve. — Bill Gates As a teacher, you will certainly be the...
Picture a classroom full of students and a lone teacher, who is riffing on some personal opinion she or he has. Now picture the...
For those who are comforted by labels and the certainty they provide, it is difficult to embrace the idea that we can unlock the...
I can hear the fear in my colleagues’ voices when they talk about the Common Core State Standards. There is so much uncertainty surrounding...
This post is sponsored by Curriculum Associates The Common Core State Standards have introduced a new level of rigor to math curriculum. No longer...
I do not enjoy being the plagiarism police with my middle-school students. For me, detecting plagiarism and determining consequences take more energy than proactively...