Most years, we might have wished that education was more present in the news. This year, though, gave truth to the old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Here are the best and worst pieces of education news in 2021, listed in no order of importance. The obvious choice for worst piece of education news: the COVID-19 pandemic that sickened and killed countless numbers of our students and members of their families, along with…
Read More »As the omicron variant rapidly spreads, more colleges are adopting policies to discourage—or in some cases ban—students from being on campus in January. Generally, the colleges that are acting start up the first week in January. Institutions with later starts tend to be waiting to decide. DePaul, Harvard and Stanford University students won’t have in-person classes the first weeks of the semester, those universities announced; Pennsylvania State University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and…
Read More »The number of school disruptions due to COVID-19, including school closures early ahead of the holiday break or announcing temporary returns to virtual learning next week, is on the rise – nearing the total number of disruptions recorded in late August, when schools were struggling to reopen against the backdrop of the delta variant. The increased interruptions, as reported by Burbio, which has been tracking school responses to the coronavirus, is due to both increasing…
Read More »in ELA, High School, Reading, Writing
When the Covid-19 pandemic took off in March, the poet and creator of Poetry 180 Billy Collins started reading a poem every weekday on Facebook Live. The readings—mostly of contemporary poems, peppered with the occasional classic by Shakespeare or John Donne—have been a surprise hit, with 47,000 followers. One woman in Paris left a comment saying that she listens in bed before she goes to sleep, while another in Australia joins with her morning coffee.…
Read More »in Elementary School, First grade reading, Kindergarten reading, Reading
We’ve all heard about the benefits of learning to read quietly and independently. A big part of learning at school is all about reading, but it’s not always easy to find time for more reading at home. Families have busy schedules filled with after-school activities and homework. Plus — let’s be honest — with all the tech at kids’ fingertips and school days already filled with required reading, it can be hard convincing kids that…
Read More »Addressing weight with your child is a sensitive matter—you want them to be healthy, but also want them to accept their body. Weight is an incredibly fraught topic as well as an imperfect indicator of health. As parents, a kid’s sudden weight gain can be hard to know how to tackle. The last thing we’d want is to set the stage for poor body image or eating disorders for our children. Here are some tips on…
Read More »The vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 is well under way. California has become the first state to announce that it will add this vaccine to its list of the shots required for all school children, and a handful of districts in 14 states are making similar moves, starting with vaccine mandates for student-athletes to participate in sports. Because almost every child attends school, vaccine mandates have been uniquely effective against diseases like…
Read More »in College Bound, Creativity, ELA, High School, Middle School
If you ask the average person what they learned about poetry in school, they might remember suffering through a few 17th-century English poets, but poetry in the classroom doesn’t have to be stuffy. Modern poetry can give students a chance to be creative, break the rules, and express themselves. In a fun and open environment, students can think of poetry as an art class with words. They can get creative with language, rhyme, and meter;…
Read More »in Holidays
Are you willing to spread the holiday cheer this year? Boston Tutoring Services is happy to promote organizations who help people in need. There are plenty of fantastic organizations that give all of us the chance for giving back, and the holidays are always a time of year in which people need some extra help. Times have been tough for all of us this year, but if you are able to help those less fortunate,…
Read More »In the wake of the pandemic, which shined a spotlight on the essential nature of early childhood education and care, universal kindergarten is poised to become a reality in California. Championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and several lawmakers, the $2.7 billion universal kindergarten program will be gradually phased in over the next five years, until it includes all the state’s 4-year-olds by the 2025-26 school year. Currently, transitional kindergarten, or TK, serves about 100,000 children,…
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