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High-Tech Tools in Schools
Too Much Tech at School? Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a popular trend sweeping schools this year. Schools with BYOD policies will be asking students to bring an Internet-Connected Mobile Device (smartphones, tablets, laptops) to school each day. Many educators believe that in the very-near future most books for school (textbooks, novels, workbooks) will…
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The Teacher’s Challenge
I recently read this piece about teaching on a colleague’s blog called Second Drafts. Unfortunately, I see myself in this. For there are some times when I am a really good teacher, and there are some times when I am just doing the minimum. I wish I would bring my “A-game” everyday all day, but…
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The Reading Crisis
What and How Are Kids Reading? Some recent observations have caused me to worry about what and how kids are reading, writing, and thinking: 1. The English teachers at our school have been noticing a gradual loss of reading and writing skills in the last five years. While the “above-average” students still exist in good…
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Just Believe in Yourself
“Just believe in yourself, and you can achieve anything.” “Pursue your dream, and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.” “If you dream it, you can be it.” Countless movies, songs, TV shows, and motivational speakers have preached this message. And countless teachers, coaches, and counselors preach the same message. Parents teach…
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Training Up Independent Kids
Embracing Mistakes; Developing Problem-Solvers Thomas Edison believed that failure was not a bad thing; it merely directed him closer to success. He embraced his mistakes as opportunities to learn, and he ultimately succeeded as the greatest inventor of all time. The truth is that you want your children (or students) to learn from their mistakes,…
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Discipline vs. Punishment
Heart-to-Heart Connection A long time ago, in a land far away, I was the principal of a small elementary school. One of my first disciplinary problems was with a 12-year-old boy who was riding his bike aggressively on the playground and sidewalks after school, which was against the rules. He continued to disobey the orders…
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Heart-to-Heart Connection
Parenting, teaching, and coaching are mutual pursuits. At this stage in my life, I am involved in all three, and I firmly believe that the daily problems I face, the skills I develop, and the lessons I learn are parallel. So, when I recently read a book on parenting, it actually spoke more to me…
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Embracing Interruption
Today was the first day of the school year, the day when the hallways of our middle school are jam-packed with beaming 12-14 year olds. They are beaming with delight at being reunited with their old friends, beaming with suntanned faces full of braces, and beaming with shiny new school supplies, locker decorations, and fresh-out-of-the-box…