During my senior year of high school, I took a one-semester required class on United States government. I knew from the first day that it was going to be an easy class; after all, I had spent most of the last 11 years of my education learning how the U.S. government worked. After the first week, I determined that my eleven-year-old sister could [...]
A lot of parents are very busy. Sometimes they’re too busy to really be involved in their children’s education. I’m pretty sure my dad has only met about a handful of my high school teachers and only remembers the ones I constantly complained about. And he just has one job. What about the parents that work two or three jobs to support their [...]
When I was in high school, I remember the lights being on all the time, never shutting down the computers, and enduring sweltering temperatures through the whole winter. While this allowed my school to be bright, active, and warm, energy expenditure made up a large portion of the school’s budget. But recently, according to the New York Times, schools are beginning to see the [...]
I may no longer be able to recite the Gettysburg Address from memory and I doubt I still remember the finer details of Lewis and Clark’s great expedition, but one important lesson I do remember from my elementary school days is the proper strategy for picking team members for a game of Red Rover. And I bet I’m not the only one! Recess [...]
A small and seemingly insignificant article caught my eye recently. Amid the bickering, impolite outbursts, and near-violent protests that have filled our news, sports, and entertainment stories over the past several months, I noticed a puzzling headline: “Up to $15,000 to middle schools and junior high schools who encourage kindness.” The Red Robin Foundation is sponsoring the U-ACT program (for Unbridled Acts, or random acts [...]
I don’t think a single person I’ve ever met has loved school cafeteria lunches. In middle school, I saw classmates bounce meatballs off the table, and in high school I stuck to bag lunches—avoiding at all costs the ever-present grease-soaked hamburgers made in the cafeteria—A.K.A. the basement. I had hoped that my college “DH” (dining hall) would be different but sadly it’s not. [...]
I recently read an article in our local newspaper (yes - I still get the print version) about a teacher in a local high school who uses alternative assessment in her classroom. Betsy Sidor's American Studies class at Upper Arlington High School outside of Columbus, Ohio, was arguing about the U.S.'s policy in Afghanistan. The students' sound arguments came from research they had [...]
Legislatures in New York, California and some other states have enacted laws that limit, to one degree or another, the use of student achievement data in teacher performance evaluations . Last year New York’s Legislature prohibited the use of student test scores in teacher tenure decisions. In a speech last month to Department of Education researchers, Education Secretary Arne Duncan singled out data laws in [...]
As a Writing, Literature and Publishing major, the joke among my friends and family is how lacking my math skills are, and unfortunately, it’s somewhat true. I say, “Thank goodness for cell phone calculators!” A new study, reported in the journal Developmental Science, may partly explain why my math skills are deficient and what I could have done years ago that might have provided [...]
Learning Management Systems (LMS) are making their way into the K-12 space. It has been a long journey, but learning management systems are now gaining popularity in K-12 schools around the country. These systems were originally created for virtual learning. However, their popularity has transformed them into a tool to create a blended learning solution for the classroom for all ages of students. [...]