Will you have a glass eye? Will you have amnesia? Can you see me now? These are a few of the questions students asked my best friend, who teaches fourth grade, when she told the group she would be having eye surgery. As teachers, we know children’s questions can range from absurd to thought-provoking. Check…
Shortly before I set about writing today’s blog post, I came across several articles on the Internet about technology in the classroom, a favorite topic of mine. There was a particular angle to all of these articles (which came from three very different sources), and that was high-speed Internet access in our schools. We may…
It’s a new year, and I decided to let only a few days pass before I (sort of) contradict myself. I love eBooks, and you should too. Sure, I love paper. I can’t live without it. And, as I said Tuesday, despite owning a high-profile eReader, I still purchase mostly traditional paper books. However, when…
It’s always a thrill for me when two unrelated ideas merge in my brain and then out pops an idea I wasn’t expecting. This happened to me the other day! The idea has to do with using pairs of picture cards or word cards for quickly partnering students. For the younger crowd, you could use…
I like smart. I think there’s nothing better. One common indicator of smart in some circles tends to be the advanced degree. I’m not saying it is an accurate or fair measure of smart. It also could be a measure of perseverance or foolishness or uncertainty, right? Not long ago, however, teachers began to be…
Imagine this: Your classroom is well-prepared. Displays are fresh. Desks and tables are exactly where you want them. Your lesson plans are laid out in detail for the next month. It is the first day you will have students in your room and you are ready, or as ready as you can be, because there’s…
It is my belief that every day you have students in your classroom is a day to educate. That includes the very last days of school. As much as I yearned for the opportunity to slack off a little, maybe show a film adaptation of a novel we had read, I rarely gave my students…
By early May, with the end of the school year on the horizon and Field Day looming, a supply cabinet filled mostly with air and dust bunnies always stared back at me. The tissue reserves had been decimated by March, if not earlier. Notebook paper? Fugeddaboutit! Cleaning products? Sure, there were a few items left,…
Mix tapes. They were the best. I used to spend hours and hours putting together what I consider to be some of the world’s best music mixes ever. Ever. Without dispute. I was to the mix tape what a modern deejay like Deadmau5 is to electronic dance music. The advent of the recordable CD (or…
Tuesday, I introduced you to the first five of Louis Cozolino’s “Nine Things Educators Need to Know About the Brain.” An article excerpted from Cozolino’s book, The Social Neuroscience of Education: Optimizing Attachment and Learning in the Classroom, appeared at the Greater Good blog. Here, then, are the remaining four insights from Cozolino: 6. The…