A Principal's Reflections

NOVEMBER 20, 2022

The pandemic leveled down an array of lessons that should pave the way for future success. One that sticks out to me as the most critical is how resilience got us through one of the most disruptive events we have ever experienced. Adversity, like never before, compelled us to not only change but also to persevere in the face of countless unknowns. While the path was fraught with obstacles, we learned to overcome them together through innovative means.

Project-Based Learning 525

Project-Based Learning Humanities Cultures Teaching 525

World History Teachers Blog

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Almost 50 years before the Jewish Holocaust in World War II, another holocaust, equally tragic and devastating, took place in Nambia in the early 1900s. In 1904, German colonizers in Nambia attempted to wipe out the Herero people who were fighting for their land. In order to defeat the Herero, German General von Trotha issued an extermination order.

Government 130

Government 130

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

DALLAS — In Levar Dobbins’ eighth grade classroom, a dozen students were learning about workforce trends. This story also appeared in Mind/Shift. “What do you think the future job market will look like?” Dobbins asked the class, at Piedmont GLOBAL Academy, a majority-Hispanic middle school in southeastern Dallas. “A whole bunch of robots,” one boy suggested.

Middle School 141

Middle School High School Tradition Elementary School 141

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

In late September, my sophomores were packing up for the day when I noticed a group of boys, heads down, all focusing on what looked to be magazines open on their desks. They lifted each page carefully, with a mix of reverence and deep concentration. ”¿Tengo Andres Guardado?” “Sí… ¿Tengo Mbappe?” The boys burst into rib-busting laughter. I moved closer, trying not to disturb the scene unfolding before me.

Cultures 122

Cultures Pedagogy Elementary School Teaching 122

Education Elements

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

The stories, run in newspapers across the country each week, paint a desperate picture: a Pre-K teacher in Texas juggling two classrooms alone; classes across the country led by a recurring series of long-term substitutes with no formal training ; a school district in Pennsylvania forced to shorten school days due to lack of staff; districts in North Carolina reporting hundreds of vacant teaching positions even as the school year begins.

Teaching 89

Teaching Education Leadership 89

Pedagogy and Formation

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Storytelling is a central part of what it means to be human. Holidays often create the perfect context for storytelling. They create 'space' to spend time with family and friends in varied contexts, and each offer opportunities to share stories and yarns. In Australia, schools have their longest break of about 6 weeks in Dec-Jan as we approach Christmas.

Controversial Topics 52

Controversial Topics Tradition History Humanities 52

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

NEW LONDON, N.H. — Bright fall hues and neatly manicured lawns frame redbrick buildings and a white wooden church steeple on a peaceful New England main street with a view of the White Mountains in the distance. This story also appeared in The Washington Post. It’s an unlikely setting for a high-stakes gamble that could help drive dramatic change to a contentious issue: how, and how much, Americans pay to get a higher education.

Psychology 119

Psychology Leadership Government Humanities 119

Education Elements

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Your organization has just been officially placed on the school improvement or district accountability list. As a leader, this likely comes as no surprise to you. In fact, you may have already taken steps over the last several months to make significant improvements around climate, instruction, curriculum, and leadership. However, for your staff, and likely the rest of the community, this announcement can be jarring and bring a range of emotions - embarrassment, discouragement, and even anger.

Leadership 76

Leadership 76

Students of History

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

One of the most time and energy-saving strategies I started using in my social studies classroom was to employ unit guide packets for students. These thorough 9-page packets were a huge help in a few ways: Printing the majority of student work at once each unit instead of each day. Students know exactly what they need to know for the test and have it in one place.

Civics 52

Civics History Primary Sources Geography 52

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

The nation’s families recently received another clear message that our education system is not serving all students. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “nation’s report card,” last month revealed the extent of the learning decline during the pandemic. It’s time for students to get the help they need. And families have never been hungrier for more options to make that possible.

Tutoring 108

Tutoring Education K-12 Tradition 108

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

My first foray into using video in my teaching involved a TV cart wheeled into my classroom, replete with a connected VHS player—and no remote. As a teacher or a student, you may remember a holiday-week screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, or a school-wide showing of a “ Stranger Danger ” PSA? Whether a feature film or an instructional video, the ‘80s and ‘90s were a ‘press-play’ culture that expected students to sit still, absorb and retain, while the educator sat in the back grading.

Teaching 114

Teaching Education K-12 EdTech 114

History Havoc

NOVEMBER 25, 2022

Today let us take a look at the Keynesian economic theory and how it applies to the causes and end of the Great Depression. Just a quick note about the theory, in its simplest form it states that changes in a component of spending, whether investment, consumption, or governmental, causes output to change. When looking at the Great Depression, the focus will start with investment but then move to government spending.

Economics 52

Economics History US Government Government 52

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

Becker College in Worcester, Mass., is one of more than 800 colleges and 9,000 campuses that have closed since 2004. Credit: Jon Marcus. Despite high profile stories about the closing of small liberal arts colleges, such as California’s Mills College and Vermont’s Green Mountain College, college closures have actually declined in the past five years.

Elementary School 106

Elementary School Research Teaching Education 106

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

As world leaders return home from the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference ( COP27 ), an annual international climate meeting that was held in Egypt this year, they have many action items to attend to. But few, if any, regard one of the populations most vulnerable to climate change: young children. This is a nexus—kids and climate—where research is becoming more and more robust, yet public awareness and understanding lag far behind.

Psychology 104

Psychology Advocacy Humanities Research 104

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 24, 2022

Editor’s note: This story led off this week’s Future of Learning newsletter, which is delivered free to subscribers’ inboxes every other Wednesday with trends and top stories about education innovation. Subscribe today! The Boys & Girls Clubs of America are better known for after-school homework help and volunteering opportunities than for cutting-edge career development.

K-12 96

K-12 Middle School High School Tradition 96

ED Surge

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

The national learning assessment NAEP is known as the “nation’s report card” because it gives policymakers a window into national learning. Released last month, the latest results revealed a big national decline in math and reading scores , charting just how disruptive the pandemic was to learning. The scores also led to states jockeying for position, as they looked to see whose education system was more devastated by the pandemic.

Research 91

Research Education Educational Technology Teaching 91

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 21, 2022

This podcast, Sold a Story, was produced by APM Reports and reprinted with permission. This story also appeared in American Public Media. There’s an idea about how children learn to read that’s held sway in schools for more than a generation – even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read.

Teaching 83

Teaching Education High School 83

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

NEW YORK, N.Y. – In Elizabeth Menéndez’s kindergarten classroom, red time on the schedule means teachers and students should speak Spanish; blue time is reserved for English. Then, there’s purple time, a “safe language space”, where students use whichever words they prefer in the moment. . Leer en Espanol. Nurturing bilingual students is the mission of the 400-student public school where Menéndez teaches, Dos Puentes Elementary in Washington Heights, a predominantly Latino neighborhood of New Y

Elementary School 112

Elementary School Middle School Library Research 112

The Hechinger Report

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

By second period, word had gotten around: Mr. Thorne wasn’t coming back to teach next year. This story also appeared in Post and Courier. Why didn’t you tell us? his students asked, over and over again. It broke his heart. What they didn’t know was that Preston Thorne had been fighting a losing battle for years. In 2017, Thorne’s last year as a high school teacher, he was one of only about 1,436 Black male teachers in South Carolina, or less than 3 percent of the total teacher workforce, accordi

Education 138

Education Elementary School High School Leadership 138