Learning a language is hard. Teaching a language is hard. I spent a couple of weeks at the beginning of this school year in an ESL position and it got me thinking again about how difficult languages are for the student and teacher. Every language has its own foibles and idiosyncrasies that native speakers don't … Continue reading Because, er, it’s English.
Books for Kindergarten
This blog focuses on the K-6 age group because that is where I have the most experience. A relatively new experience for me is being a father. So today's post will be about some great books I have found in my hunt for reading material for my daughter. There are a series of books called … Continue reading Books for Kindergarten
Summer Browsing
Summer for teachers is half over and though we probably want to relish these dog days a few weeks more, many of us can’t help but look toward the fall and start to prepare. In the hustle and bustle of the school year I often bookmark sites I come across that may be useful, but … Continue reading Summer Browsing
What Does This Look Like In The Classroom?
Every new education graduate comes to terms with the stark realities of the classroom in one way or another. What we all notice is that the theories of teaching and learning that we studied do not always translate to the classroom. I recently read What Does This Look Like In The Classroom?: Bridging the Gap Between Research […]
Korean and Finnish Education
Anyone who has looked at international education outcomes has inevitably asked, what are the South Koreans and the Finns doing to keep getting the top marks in the global class? According to this article by Amy S. Choi, it is a different approach from each that yields the chart-topping performance. In Korea, it seems to … Continue reading Korean and Finnish Education
Sub Tips
Being a substitute is tough. Your work week is not guaranteed. You often have a class you have never seen before at a school you don’t know. You don’t know the routines and the expectations. On top of all that, the kids know that they can test the limits again now that their teacher is … Continue reading Sub Tips
Calender Madness
It is February, the runt of the monthly litter with only 28 days. This year, 2018, is not a leap year and so February is at least 2 days shorter than the other months. Most people know that the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun is actually 365.25 days and that extra … Continue reading Calender Madness
Higher Learning
I recently started teaching high school and quickly realized that the possibilities for content are greatly expanded. These young adults are mature enough to approach all sorts of ideas and they are ready to question your assertions and defend their beliefs. It is an invigorating and formative age. The exciting part for me is that … Continue reading Higher Learning
That’s a lot of stars.
So, I guess I am a little late on this one, but I found it so interesting. I was searching for a work around of a dead link of a post I did a while back and I came across this amazing interactive visualization from Chrome Experiments. You have probably heard that the universe is … Continue reading That’s a lot of stars.
Better Conversations
I posted a little while ago about asking better questions to have better responses from students. Well, tonight I was out for a walk and listening to TED Talks Daily when I heard a great talk from Celeste Headlee about better conversations. In this funny and engaging talk she advises us to throw out all … Continue reading Better Conversations
