Technology and diets have one thing in common. Neither works unless you work them, and, when it comes to school technology, for the most part, we educators are more like dabblers than implementers. In a recent New York Times article, Matt Richtel put it bluntly. “Schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut [...]
A late school start aimed at tourism revenue undermines the efforts of college-bound students and parents. After a friend of mine personally witnessed the horrific traffic in the Washington, D.C. area, he said, “the people here must have a really high tolerance for this craziness.”
Background: Back in 1995, I was teaching an Internet course for our teachers. When I look at the syllabus for that course, I have a good laugh. Sad to say, we could do things in 1995 that would be difficult to pull off today. Yes, we were using ftp and a beta version of Netscape, [...]
Master teacher, Sherry Singer, taught Advanced Placement Biology for approximately fourteen years and then switched to International Baccalaureate (IB) Biology for another fourteen years. Sherry taught for much of her career in what National Geographic Magazine called "the most diverse high school in America." When I need an expert teacher’s opinion, Sherry is one of [...]
by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader I am starting to feel like many educational leaders are approaching the instruction of math as if it were a game of “Jeopardy”. “Bill, it’s your turn to choose.” “Alex, I’d like to move to ‘Math Solutions’ for 200.” “Starting a new category, the answer is…‘8th [...]
A while back, I was having a conversation with a member of our school community lamenting the fact that no one every bothered to check to see if the school programs in place were actually working for our neediest students. She looked at me quizzically and replied, "Mel, you don’t get it. This is the [...]
In a recent post on this blog, Stu Singer, The Teacher Leader, writes, "Jay Mathews has proposed a plan that he believes would increase rigor in schools. In a recent Washington Post article “Why not honors courses for all?” he addresses a concern of some parents that their school district is moving away from the [...]
by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader It would seem logical that a local community college would be an excellent source to evaluate the quality of the education high school students were receiving. Kristen Amundson, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates and current communications manager for Education Sector, relayed some chilling data concerning [...]
by Stuart Singer, The Teacher Leader Developing an Effective Interview Process Academic success has been directly linked to the quality of a school’s teaching and administrative staffs. Prescriptions are continually being proposed to improve educational personnel. These plans have included merit pay, improved evaluations, and easier termination policies among others. But this goal is too [...]
"Lectures have been equally ineffective for centuries."–Carl Weiman The Boston Globe headline read "Study: It’s not the teacher, but method that matters." The headline is misleading. In fact, the study reveals that it is the teacher and how the teacher teaches that matters the most. While the study looked at college physics students, the findings [...]
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