What treasures is this smiling scarecrow watching over? I can tell you there are some fall decorations, a tub of candy corn, and a package of fall-colored paper for starters! And, of course, the winner of this month’s giveaway also wins the adorable scarecrow bag. So what are you waiting for? It quick and simple…
Smaller class sizes. I can’t argue with that one. In answer to the question Which of the following ideas do you think would do the most to improve the quality of public education in America (or the nation in which you live)?, most of you chose smaller class sizes. Of course, your choices were somewhat…
When looking back over the year of Upper Grades Exchange posts I wrote in 2011 for a “year in review” post I never finished, it was not difficult to see that you—my readers—are most likely to react and comment on topics that involve some amount of controversy. Technology in the classroom, education reform, class sizes,…
For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. For every outsize class bursting a room at its seams, there’s an equal and opposite small class, begging for intimacy and intensity. As I noted previously, in my third year of teaching I had a class that required every available desk in my room. Thirty-one students….
The time: My third year of teaching. The place: My classroom. The point: Thirty-one desks in my classroom, thirty-one students coming through the door for a language arts class. The result: Awkward. Keep in mind that I had, of course, seen my class lists, but the actual appearance of those thirty-one students in my classroom…