Do you believe that asking students to write stories about any topic they choose can turn students on to writing? According to author Bruce Coville, that’s how he discovered his love of writing. For him it happened in sixth grade. By the time he was 17, he had decided he was going to be a…
“You are soooo smart!” As quickly as the words left my lips, I muttered to myself, “I’m not supposed to say that.” Now granted, I was talking to my pooch who had just brought her KONG toy to me for our workday ritual (a dab of peanut butter before I leave for work). However, pup…
I recently read an article in support of the notion that if students do not want to learn, it is impossible to make them learn. Okay, here’s the honest truth: I wanted to shake this author until his teeth rattled loose and spilled out onto the floor. I was in such disbelief that I read…
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…
I may be a bit old fashioned when it comes to my philosophy on education. And while the jury is still out, I do remain uncomfortably curious about what a Common Core future means to young learners. My initial reaction sees a narrowing of the curriculum, and I feel like lodging complaints like an old…
My students sometimes accused me of torture. If you know me, you know how funny that is. Maybe I did torture my students, but it was justifiable in the war on classroom boredom. It served the greater good of learning! More than a few times, I have mentioned Jack London’s story “To Build a Fire”…