The longer I am in teaching, the more I feel that the biggest factor in (the vast majority of) students’ academic success is their parents. Although there have been instances where a teacher or other school faculty member has had the power to turn a kid around, I believe that the most fundamental element is…
read more »Over the past month, I’ve begun drafting three entries on this blog and another two on my private blog. Only one has made it past a few sentences. This is a testament to the disjointedness of my thoughts lately, as I approach the end of the school year while simultaneously ramping up my responsibilities for…
read more »Helping students to internalize knowledge, skills, and mindsets (one of those tfa phrases that has stuck with me!) is a large part of what we do as teachers. Of course, there’s also bringing out the positive already in the child, but that’s for another day. What I’d like to celebrate today is those parents, coaches,…
read more »Kevin Huffman is one of two TFA alumni who is currently a state education commissioner. I was a 1991 Houston corps member and Kevin was one in 1992 so I have known him, at least informally, for over twenty years. I interacted with him from time to time when he was a TFA vice president…
read more »It’s called The Defining Decade by Meg Jay. It’s really helpful, especially for those of us who are just finishing TFA. Oh yeah, I’m done with TFA, by the way, as of Friday afternoon. I can’t even write about it yet — too much to process. I’m packing up, and leaving Arkansas on Wednesday. Wow.
read more »For those of you starting institute for the first time, the fourth time, and/or the last time, here’s a fond institute memory for you: Four years ago, I moved into a large suite at St. John’s University in Queens for my first institute experience as an operations coordinator. I was still in college, debating whether…
read more »Gary, If you’re not finding any thoughtful reform writing, then you’re not looking hard enough. Read Michael Petrilli and the Fordham Institute’s stuff, particularly Education Next; read some of the Dropout Nation, which includes important discussion of school discipline; read Rick Hess or Jay Green. Not of course that all these writers fit neatly…
read more »My TFA placement was in middle school math (grades 7-8), and I continue to teach math and cultural subjects to middle grades students (grades 4-6). I care deeply about making math meaningful, even when that outlook hasn’t meshed with school and student cultures. Here are some of the resources I use and recommend: Free Online…
read more »As TFA corps members, many of us entered teaching with a great passion for education and educational equity. We cared about our kids and would attempt to do that which was in our “locus of control” to guide students to meeting big goals (and, let’s be honest, TFA led us to believe almost everything was…
read more »I’m currently engaged in a Montessori teacher training program and last summer wrote some notes on the theories and methods of Montessori education. If this interests you, I would recommend reading some published books such as Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Stoll Lillard, scheduling a classroom observation at a local Montessori (AMS…
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