Lecturing and Teaching Remotely — My Setup and Approach
I just ran a workshop/facilitate this morning for a number of the Chief Digital Officers from several European capital cities to help them share best practices and shared challenges in…
Teaching
Can Public School Teachers Teach from Home?
Last Thursday, after getting a series of emails from the school board and OSSTF about concerns with many students travelling over the March Break and returning with an incubating virus…
Paul Gorski on Education and Inequity
For the first time in 28 years of teaching, I approve of the new guru being brought to the masses from on high. Immediately, from just the first few seconds…
Real World Curriculum
Almost two years ago, in July of 2017, I crafted a “Real World” curriculum. It must have rained or been outrageously hot for a few days in a row for…
Like Rats Jumping a Sinking Ship
My class had a great conversation the other day about discrimination and W.E.B. DuBois’s “double consciousness.” I discussed the theory and solicited for comments, but there were none, as I…
More Ford Cuts: Ban Cell Phones, but Mandate Online Courses
From iPolitics: “On top of the change to class sizes, the government is also mandating that all high school students take four of their 30 credits online. This requirement will…
Ford’s Cuts to Education
As reported in a CBC article, Ford’s cuts to education, so far, aren’t nearly as bad as anticipated. Could it mean he actually listened to citizens? Or maybe they’ve been…
Are Grades Harmful to Students?
A bold claim was made to me recently that giving students grades on assignments and tests actually impedes their ability to self-assess their work. It’s a big deal when an…
OFSTED Report
OFSTED recently published a report on what works in schools. Some of the ideas were relevant only to the U.K., but other ideas can be used here. They studied schools…
On the Covington Catholic School Incident
The best part of this issue, if there can be a good part, where a bunch of high school boys surrounded Nathan Phillips to get a little kick from exercising…
On Continuums: ASD, OCD, ADHD, Alzheimers, and Allergies
Since the Aspergers designation was excluded from the DSM V, many people were, and are, outraged that all cases fall under the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) instead of the separate…
On Evaluating Teachers and Edu-Speak
I just went through the final teacher evaluation of my career, since we are evaluated every five years, and I don’t expect to do this for more than another four.…
On Arguing Facts
It never ceases to amaze me how often I’ll be writing or thinking about something, and then the perfect articles drop in my lap. It might help that I’ve been…
Ontario’s Education: Call for Ideas
Today’s the last chance to tell Rob Ford and the Minister of Education, Lisa Thompson, what we should do with the educational system. As if it matters. At least it…
Climate Change Education: Maybe Too Little, Too Late?
I’ve been teaching about climate change since I started teaching in 1991. Back then, most students just laughed, and I came across as a crazy person. I was fine with…
What Should Teachers Do to Prevent Gun Violence?
Lots of us have students who don’t quite fit in and spend all their time alone, friendless. They might have been bullied for being different, and we can’t always solve…
On Progressive Education
I recently watched a film, Most Likely to Succeed, which has inspired a lengthy post about educational reform. FIRST, A BIT ON DEWEY AND SKINNER: (If educational theory isn’t your…
On Extra Time and IEP Designations
We administered the literacy test yesterday with one new twist that most teachers weren’t privy to until the previous evening: There would be no specific accommodations for students with IEPs…
On School Holidays
If we can’t move or shorten the “winter break” because, let’s face it. we’re running on a Christian calendar with lengthy holidays around Christmas and Easter and no time off…
On Anxiety
I just finished John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, which I read because he claimed it was his way of trying to put words around what it’s like to…