Descartes opined that when no one is in the woods to hear a tree fall there is no proof that the tree actually fell. Applied to causing learning, if a teacher is talking/teaching in a classroom and no students are … Continue reading
Plan For Listening If You Want To Be Heard
Relationships Created in September Cause Learning
September in school is all about relationships. Beginning with the moment that a child is told the names of her teachers-to-be and a teacher reads the roster of names assigned to her for instruction, the most essential educational agenda is … Continue reading
Readingless Children
Parents, this is on you! “What book are you reading?”, I asked a middle-school aged child. He said, “I don’t read.” And, returned his attention to his tablet where he was engaged in virtual gaming with friends at a distance. … Continue reading
The Teacher I Wish For You
(This is a letter to our grandchildren. Each of our grandchildren will be in a public school this fall ranging from third grade to tenth grade. Our grandchildren know their Gramps is “old school.” Old as in living in his … Continue reading
Start A New School Year? Restart Continuous Instruction!
A new school year is new because it follows a summer recess and has a different annual number than the last school year. That’s all. If we overdo the concept of “new” and the fresh start to a “new experience”, … Continue reading
Retire Like You Worked – No Final Flurries
Important news for soon-to-be retirees. If you feel compelled to finish every task that you have been working on or to clear your desk of every item on your To Do List, don’t. Stop! Here are the reasons for leaving … Continue reading
Correct Learned Errors Or Live With The Consequences
Mulligans and do overs are feel good events. A do over means that a first attempt gone awry does not count – it never happened. One says, “There, that feels better” and progresses to the next opportunity to test one’s … Continue reading
Unabashed Recruitment of Future Teachers
How many teachers were valedictorians of their graduating class? Salutatorians? Top ten in their class? Being number one through ten in a graduating class is not a prerequisite for being a “top ten” teacher, but being an excellent student is … Continue reading
Unteach To Unlearn or Befriend Your Mistakes
“That’s wrong!” “Don’t do it that way!” “Stop! Don’t repeat that again.” Learning something new is a triumph. Learning, meaning the ability to internalize an idea so that one can recall, restate, compare and contrast the idea against other ideas, … Continue reading
Finding A Teacher
Teacher. A noun. The word means “a person who educates.” Synonyms for the word teacher include these nouns: abecedary, advisor, coach, disciplinarian, educator, faculty member, guide, instructor, lecturer, mentor, pedagogue, scholar, trainer, and tutor. Teach. A verb. The word means … Continue reading