There’s little debate among teachers that class size matters. One survey found that nine in 10 teachers said that smaller classes would strongly boost student learning. “Huge class sizes are a challenge because it makes it hard to focus on individual students who are struggling or who are ready to go on to the next level,” one high school teacher explained. But some education policymakers and pundits remain skeptical, arguing that reducing class sizes is…
It seems undeniable that today’s students, parents, school leaders, and political leaders can be more reactive and sensitive to challenging material, ideas, language, and exercises or activities. Uncomfortable topics that used to be fairly commonplace in classrooms can now be expected to be a trigger to be avoided for fear of controversy and protest. No doubt some of the practices of the past are worthy of such scrutiny, but have we created a culture that…
Many Americans’ first thought after seeing school shootings in the news was likely “not again.” For parents, teachers, and school administrators, other thoughts probably followed: How will I explain this to the young people in my life? How can my school respond and help students process this tragedy? Could it happen here? The attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was the deadliest school shooting since a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook…
A wave of disappointment and anger is spreading across New York City school communities, touched off by Mayor Eric Adams’ recently announced budget cuts. Parents fear they’ll see programs discontinued in the fall, and teachers are worried about their jobs. While the cuts are tied to K-12 declining enrollment —which has dropped by 9.5% since the beginning of the pandemic — many parents, educators, and politicians believe they will hurt students as they continue grappling…
Teachers have faced unprecedented burdens during the coronavirus pandemic — the risks of teaching in person, the challenges of online schooling, and the furor over critical race theory. Now another threat looms on the horizon for a group of former educators in Atlanta: prison. The Atlanta school cheating scandal rose to national attention in 2015 when 11 Black educators were convicted of racketeering and conspiracy for allegedly cheating or enabling cheating on students’ standardized tests.…
Facing a sharp drop in applications, Teach For America is expecting its smallest crop of first-year teachers in at least 15 years, new data from the organization shows. The organization expects to place just under 2,000 teachers in schools across the country this coming fall. That’s just two-thirds of the number of first-year teachers Teach for America placed in schools in fall 2019, and just one-third of the number it sent into the field at…
Online gaming websites can prove to be a treasure trove of learning opportunities, and there are a variety of content-areas, age ranges, and skill levels to choose from. The true pay dirt for browser-based learning games can be found on large online digital game hubs. Here are 10 educational online gaming websites that teachers and parents can use as one tool in their arsenal. 1. Primary Games. With games and activities that meet curriculum needs…
In an era dominated by constant information and the desire to be social, should the tone of thinking for students be different? After all, this is the 21st century, the world of Google. In this world full of information abundance, our minds are constantly challenged to react to data, and often in a way that doesn’t just observe, but interprets. Subsequently, we unknowingly spin everything to avoid any degree of dissonance. As a result, the…
It’s almost tax day, and while tax time can be a trying experience for adults, it can also be a prime learning opportunity for students to understand how taxes work and why we pay them. By taking an approach to teaching taxes that is enjoyable and stress free, when kids grow up to manage their own taxes, they won’t carry negative preconceptions they may have been inadvertently taught by their parents. Many high school students…
Of the five senses, the ability to sense sound is undervalued and under-appreciated, and yet inextricably tied to our understanding of the world. Our culture is very much visually oriented, but just as visual objects have elements of size, texture, and color, so, too, does sound. Though sound is invisible, it consists of so much information: pitch, timing, rhythm, timbre and phrase, says neuroscientist Nina Kraus. Kraus’s new book, “Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain…
