Previously I wrote an article breaking down greatschools.org ratings by showing the scores of several schools within the Winston Salem, NC area. The gist of that article was that high tests scores (and especially greatschools.org ratings) do not mean that a school is high caliber. Although parents continually hang their hat on that hook. Interestingly, … Continue reading Here’s A Cautionary Tale To Every Parent Who Thinks High Test Scores Equal A Great School
Picking an elementary school can be terrifying. As parents we are concerned for our children. We want our child to love learning, to be around good friends. to avoid bullying, to get good grades, and to be ready for advanced schooling. We are worried about the school our child attends because we're scared their future … Continue reading This Is How To Pick The Best School For Your Child
I realized as I started this project that this list could become counter productive. Many teachers feel so overwhelmed that a big list of ways to to improve, even SMALL ways, can seem like an impossible task. Never fear though, I have written several steps to help keep you in a growth mindset. And if … Continue reading Awesome Teachers Remember They Can’t Do Everything Every Week (GMTT-#6)
I read a statistic that over 60% of teacher's in the 90's said they were satisfied with their jobs. That's a lot more than the percentage of teachers in 2012. In 2012 only a meager 39% of teachers said they were satisfied with their jobs. So what changed? Does it matter that teachers are less … Continue reading Here’s Why Teacher Satisfaction Is Down And How To Fix It
Special education... Ah. The best and worst B.S. out there. We love it, we need it, and we hate it. In this article you will never read "public school" special education is B.S... because the special ed. crap certainly is not limited to public schools. And some public schools actually do have their crap together. … Continue reading This Is Why Traditional Special Education Practices Are Bull S*#@
Teachers are overworked, under paid, and under appreciated. When we take a few minutes each week to give 5-10% more to our career, we are happier.
A lot of stuff we think know about recycling is outdated or incomplete, or we hear or read one part of the recycling picture and hang our hats on that alone. Our relationship with the planet is complicated. There is rarely one right way to solve a problem... in fact, problems often need several solutions. … Continue reading How To Actually Teach Your Kids About Recycling And Conservation
Somewhere in between our 4th or 5th move as a family, I realized that teaching in various states and placements each had its own flavor. While teaching in public school had the widest services available for students, my experience was that services were often slowed or hindered by the bureaucracy of the public school system. … Continue reading The Perfect School Placement For Any Student
Hey there. I need to be straight with teachers. We are really sucking at helping parents access our digital classroom tools. I know. You're busy. You're underpaid. You've got way too many kids to keep a handle on. And parents need to take responsibility for their own children. And sometimes parents need to back off … Continue reading Teachers: We Kind Of Suck At Helping Parents Access Digital Classwork And We Can Fix It!