“Syllabus Day” Happens for a Reason
It’s Back-to-School season again, also known to educators as time for classroom-management think pieces, syllabus guides, curricular critiques, and ritual lamentations for summer to make their yearly rounds on social media. Popular among my colleagues this year has been this critique of the phenomenon of “Syllabus Day” by Kevin Gannon, in …
No-nonsense nurturing, rural schools, lying law schools, not-so-brainy games, and more: Required Readings, 01.11.16
The no-nonsense nurturing approach to classroom management: “keeping expectations high by only praising outstanding effort” or “too much emphasis on compliance, not engagement”? The unique challenges and opportunities in America’s rural schools A lawsuit against the Thomas Jefferson School of Law regarding false job-placement statistics will proceed, per a California judge. What does …
Fairness
It started last year during a study period. The upcoming tests were serious business and my job was just to be a teacher in the room. Technically, it is the students’ time to use as they see fit. Disruptive behavior isn’t allowed, but if a student wants to quietly play …
Pop Quiz: Respect
When I was getting my master’s degree I was in an incredible program at the University of Pennsylvania called the Penn Science teachers institute, Master’s of Chemistry Education. In this program I was taught by many phenomenal people, but the person I want to focus today’s post on was a …