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3 simple steps to keep graduating students engaged
Catherine Iste EducationWhile the winter months may try to slow it down, time seems to speed up from now until the end of the school year. Keeping high school students engaged, particularly when graduation and myriad post-graduation opportunities await them, can be challenging. Here are three simple steps to ensure students stay focused through June.
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Backlash begins after union victories for teachers
Michelle R. Matisons EducationRecently, Los Angeles teachers went on strike for smaller class sizes, higher salaries, and more nurses, librarians, counselors, and community schools. And guess what? It worked. For now. On Jan. 22, the six-day strike that closed schools for 34,000 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) students ended. This was a victory for the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), which ratified the new contract with 81 percent of the vote. But after a solid year of effective actions by teachers' unions across the country, a backlash is brewing.
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Create — don’t deny — access to complex text
Savanna Flakes EducationLiteracy unlocks the door to opportunity. Among the top five skills for tomorrow’s jobs, as listed by RBC Economics Research, is reading comprehension. Every student should have opportunities to engage meaningfully with rich, authentic, complex text. Complex text is text that is worthy of repeated readings over multiple instructional periods, allowing the reader to re-read, investigate, and deeply analyze a text for language and meaning, ultimately making connections to the author and the world.
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The increasing load of the small-town school leader
Brian Stack EducationEvery year for the past several years, I have been asked to justify to the elected officials in my New Hampshire school community why with a declining enrollment I am not recommending a reduction in school administrator positions at my high school. It is hard to explain to someone not in the field that the amount of responsibility and workload of a school principal does not correlate directly with the size of a student population. Some aspects of the job do — such as managing student discipline and evaluation of staff. Yet, other aspects of the job do not.
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Building metacognitive skills with English learners: Part 2
Erick Herrmann EducationIn part one of this two-part series, we explored the topic of metacognition and the importance of building it into our instruction for English learners. By teaching students about metacognition, we can increase their awareness and help cultivate this skill in our students. In addition, by tapping students’ prior knowledge and linking to past experiences, we can help students to be more metacognitive and improve their learning skills. In this second part, we will look at additional instructional strategies that can be incorporated in your classroom.
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Tips for teaching kindergarten music classes
Aileen Miracle EducationI was once told in college that when lesson planning, you should think about the child's age and transfer that to minutes to understand their attention span. So, a 5-year-old can handle a five-minute activity before losing attention, a 6-year-old can handle six minutes, etc. I have found this rule of thumb to be very helpful, especially in kindergarten. In this article, I’m sharing tips for teaching kindergarten music so that students are engaged and you feel successful.
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Why the Los Angeles teachers’ strike matters
Patrick Gleeson EducationThe Los Angeles teachers’ strike brings home some uncomfortable truths about American education. The outcome of this particular teachers’ strike may influence, even determine, the course of U.S. primary and secondary education for years to come. Many Americans have a clichéd understanding of underperforming and underfinanced American schools — of why certain states have underperforming schools, of the connection between inadequate teacher salaries and student underperformance and, importantly, of the political environments that produce those outcomes. Like many clichés, this is at least partly true, but the reality is more nuanced.
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He struggles with reading. He fights it. How can his teachers help him?
Howard Margolis EducationUnfortunately, many children with reading disabilities feel hopeless and helpless about learning to read. They believe it’s better to give up than to try and fail. Several of the struggling readers I’ve evaluated made it clear: "I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I hate it." Fortunately, by working together, teachers and parents can often multiply their positive influence and daily effectiveness. Together, they can help struggling readers minimize and perhaps abandon their beliefs that they’ll never learn to read. Only by helping struggling readers to start to believe that they can learn to read will they start working to become motivated, competent readers.
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What to know about practical interactive grammar
Douglas Magrath EducationL2 learning goes beyond acquisition of linguistic features. The process includes communication, cultural awareness, the ability to compare and contrast L1 and L2, and the use of language skills with academic disciplines. As I mentioned in the previous article on this subject, grammar instruction is vital, but the methodology is continuing to shift to a more student-centered approach that actively involves the learners. Students learn to function in various practical settings using all the skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. They are culturally aware and understand how culture relates to language.
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ADA partners with PBS Kids to make sure children are ready for the dentist
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareIf you haven’t heard of Daniel Tiger, you likely don’t hang out with preschoolers much. In a recent episode of "Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood," Daniel felt a little nervous about visiting a new dentist for a cleaning and exam. But with some help from the American Dental Association, Daniel’s visit was smooth sailing! Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, an ADA spokesperson and former ADA vice president, worked closely with producers of the show, which is an American-Canadian animated children's television series on PBS Kids, to shape the content of the episode.
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