Can COURAGE Be Taught? – ABSOLUTELY!
I LOVE seeing courage in action. Witnessing it is inspiring and can fill one with hope. It can start a movement and ignite change. Courage comes in many forms and has many definitions. So let’s be clear on the courage that I am talking about. In the most basic of definitions, I’m talking about the courage […] Read More
Empowered Community vs Classroom Community — Who Drives?
Success in the classroom depends on thousands of variables. They all have importance and they all deserve our attention. My focus here is on a very important variable. One with which I believe we have not been intentional. We need to rethink Community in the Classroom. Don’t freak out just yet. I am not […] Read More
Constructivist Learners Learn HOW TO LEARN
Last year, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to uproot our family and move to Charlottesville, VA. To be more specific, we moved to Albemarle County Public Schools. A lot went into this decision to change jobs, change the kids’ schools, sell our house and build a new one. The driving reason […] Read More
My Advice for Incoming Teachers
Veteran teachers always look back on their early years and say: “If only I knew then what I know now about this profession.” Or “I was so naive as a first year teacher.” I think that to the high school senior choosing a college major, or the college student narrowing down their degree […] Read More
5 Ways to Cultivate a Creative Mindset in Classrooms
The real world puts great value in hiring the best person for an organization’s needs. Each industry is unique. They all have specific training that is needed for their employees to be successful, and they look for a certain skillset required for the job. However, within EVERY industry there is a common mindset that is […] Read More
It’s Time for Education to Engage in Competition
As teachers, we are in a very competitive battle for a child’s attention. Outside of our walls, kids are immersed in engagement at the highest levels. Phones have addicting games and apps that completely hijack a kid’s attention. Video games are designed to occupy kids for hours, if not days. Movies are produced at a […] Read More
THE LOST ART OF HUMAN CONNECTION
Over the past 18 years of my teaching career, I have noticed a number of changes in children. Many of those changes have been extraordinarily positive. Kids are accomplishing more today at a higher rate than what was previously deemed possible. The digital world has changed education, but it has also changed kids. While they […] Read More
CAN EDUCATION TRIGGER A CATALYST MOVEMENT
A Vicious Cycle Sometimes I feel like we are surrounded by a surplus of people pounding on their chests and complaining about all the things that are wrong in the world. They seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle. They find a problem – it can range from a small problem at their job, […] Read More
HOW EDUCATION CAN HELP THE COMMUNICATION CRISIS
Baseline: Youth Communication Has Drastically Changed You can blame it on technology if you want. You can blame it on parenting if you want. You can blame it on schools if you want. I guess it really doesn’t matter who we blame it on. The fact is, the quality of Communication among our […] Read More