At its best, education broadens the way students view the world and their place in it.
Photo:https://www.compassionaterochestermn.org/ In these surreal times, with virtually everyone either under a stay-at-home mandate or voluntarily quarantining, daily life has taken on a completely new look and feel. In the process, education has not only been transformed into a long-distance experience but also now truly does take a village to undertake. Many students are learning on …
Continue reading "Adding Compassion to the Long-Distance Curriculum"
Photo: http://saintdrexel.org/resources/caring-connections/ It’s the middle of the school year. At this point, the enthusiasm that started your year may have waned a bit, dimmed by a combination of weariness and reality. After all, you know your students quite well by now. You know who is eager to comply and who is a behavioral challenge. The …
Photo: http://lacomadre.org/2017/06/strong-school-culture-can-secret-ingredient-successful-school/ Some schools just seem to beckon to you as you enter. Providing a sense of belonging and acceptance, they offer a warm atmosphere that is at once comforting and vibrant. Genuine learning occurs in those schools along with a spirit of support and camaraderie that you can feel throughout the building. Most important, …
Continue reading "Does Your School Culture Match Your Values?"
Photo: wishtv.com Consider this scenario: Laughing and talking, a group of students enters the cafeteria and heads for the lunch line. As they fill their trays and step forward in line, one student is singled out. His tray is taken by a cafeteria worker and replaced with a cheese sandwich and a container of milk …
Photo:https://okpolicy.org/oklahomas-new-third-grade-retention-law/ If you reflect on your own third grade experience, you might recall a favorite teacher or subject, a best friend or a nemesis. But you probably don’t recall third grade as a watershed year. Yet, when it comes to reading competency, researchers say it is. In fact, one study indicates that reading below grade …
Photo: https://jfynet.org/2837/what-does-standardized-really-mean-mcas-2-0/ Data-driven. It’s a favorite buzzword among educators. In fact, boldly declaring your school or district to be data driven is meant to convey the seriousness of your approach to education. For those reading the term as part of a school’s motto, the words are intended as a statement of that school’s commitment to …
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Photo: https://madisoncountycourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/academics.png When you receive your class list, it’s just a collection of faceless names. Nothing about the individual students shows up on that list. In fact, even if you review their records, which isn’t a true reflection of all that each student is anyway, you still don’t know the people who will be seated …
Photo: https://i0.wp.com/kidworldcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/80115Multicultural_Chapter_Books_For_Kids.jpg?resize=750%2C858 What was your favorite book as a child? Better yet, why was it your favorite? It likely resonated with you in a special way, was relevant to your individual life. That's often why books become favorites. Unfortunately, many kids have to find those books outside of school, in libraries or bookstores, rather than …
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Photo: https://www.plu.edu/marcom/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2016/02/lincoln-hs-1-26-161099-1024x683.jpg Most educators know that students learn more with teachers who have a strong and caring relationship with them. However, what’s often overlooked, particularly on the secondary level, is the importance of equally strong and healthy relationships among the students. After all, students are people first, and people simply do best when they can …
Photo: http://turnaroundtour.com/wp-content/uploads/Relationships.jpg Opening my Facebook page recently, I discovered a lovely post placed there by a former student. It was a quote by educator Justin Tarte that read, “Teachers who put relationships first don’t have students just for one year; they have students who view them as ‘their’ teacher for life.” I really liked that. …
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Denise Fawcett Facey 
