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Anxiety’s spiking: Here’s how to help our students
Howard Margolis EducationCOVID-19 has caused untold numbers of America’s students (and family members, teachers, and school support staff) to suffer mild to severe anxiety. Some will be helped by the passage of time and new coping skills. Some won’t. For those who won’t, especially those who suffer from severe anxiety, who intensely fear the future, it’s a crisis. It’s also a crisis for their families, their teachers, and America writ large. We can lament that, "The pandemic’s horrible. Anxiety's a natural outcome. We can't do anything about it. It’s here. We’re all victims." Or, we can face the problem. We can ask and answer this question: How can we help affected students help themselves?
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Tackling the nation’s math education deficit
Sheilamary Koch EducationAsk students whether they like math. Now ask the same question about money. Usually their reactions are pretty distinct! Since finances boil down to numbers, couldn’t they be used to teach math? Of course, the answer is yes. Teaching about money is just one way innovative educators are picking up the slack on the country's dismal state of mathematics. COVID-19 related school closures and distance learning have made the situation even worse, especially for students from marginalized communities.
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Vocabulary tips and hints for English learners
Douglas Magrath EducationVocabulary learning is more than copying words and definitions. Students need to be actively involved in the process. Students may have a good vocabulary for getting around town and chatting with friends from the host country, but they may have difficulty with academic and course-specific vocabulary. Students often struggle with academic vocabulary, especially if their L1 is a non-European language. Vocabulary development is critical and should be integrated into all parts of the curriculum.
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Homework and independent assignments: Avoiding problems, encouraging success
Howard Margolis EducationMany struggling learners "hate" homework and in-class assignments that they need to complete by themselves. Why? Academics confuses, frustrates, and overwhelms them. Their struggles humiliate them. Expectations of failure send shutters down their spines. Ask yourself: Day after day, would you want your success to depend on confusing and frustrating work that overwhelms you, that you fail at, that leaves you feeling incompetent and worthless? I doubt it. Even in this era of remote instruction, where direct, in-person instruction is often rare, where struggling learners must often work alone, and where it’s often difficult for them to get the help they need, teachers and support staff can improve this situation.
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How NGOs help improve global education
Ginger Abbot EducationEducation on a global scale is an important topic within the education community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Not everyone has access to proper schooling, which is why NGOs have volunteered their time and effort to create awareness of this issue. Everyone has a right to education. It allows people to learn throughout their lifetime. It also has the power to change lives. Global education nonprofits focus on empowering students of any age to learn. NGOs can help improve global education, and studies have shown that they already have.
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Is the pandemic to blame for lower college enrollments?
Brian Stack EducationAs is customary for a high school principal who lives in the community that he serves, when I see my former students out and about in town I always ask them how they are doing and what they have been up to since graduation. This season, I have been surprised to hear about the number of my students who have chosen to defer their freshman year of college. Among all of the reasons given, three pandemic-related ones are often cited.
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Building the toolkit for paraprofessional success
Savanna Flakes EducationParaprofessionals — you are kind of a big deal! You use your talents to inspire and to encourage students to discover their own strengths. Your role is unique, and with limited time to plan with collaborating teachers, you passionately meet the needs of many students. This article is for you, with the goal of strengthening your toolkit. I’ve compiled a list of practices under three critical elements of this dynamic role: knowing thy student(s), collecting data, and facilitating student independence.
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Good news in your job search: Harry, Larry, and the bear
Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWhat is North America’s No. 1 domestic issue of most concern to the average person? Politics? Coronavirus? Who will win Super Bowl LV? Nope! The thing that concerns most people is still jobs. Whether you are 18 or 80, you’ve likely never seen it more difficult to find a great job in your field of interest in your lifetime. Lockdowns in various regions of the country, overseas competition, and rapidly changing methods employers use to fill jobs have all made it difficult for good people to find good jobs.
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Leading women to STEM careers
Terry Hogan and Angela Cleveland EducationOnce they hit middle school, girls often move away from STEM-related careers. School counselors can help middle and high school girls keep all their options open. Careers in STEM exert significant influence and power, shaping nearly every aspect of our lives. Yet, women (diverse in race, ethnicity, class, age, gender identity, abilities, and other historically marginalized identities) are underrepresented in the field. And, even when present, they may find themselves in unwelcoming cultures that impede their participation as innovators, leaders, and researchers who are shaping the future.
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Supporting social-emotional learning in today’s classroom
Sheilamary Koch EducationBefore students can really focus on math, science or any academic subject, they need to have their basic needs met, and one of those needs is emotional security. Today, students' stress may be related to economic uncertainty in the family, concern about an elderly loved one or even being able to log in for class. Even prior to today's pandemic-triggered upheaval, many educators were strongly advocating for social-emotional learning (SEL) to address bullying in the classroom as well as to help students develop the skills today’s employers are seeking such as the ability to tolerate unpleasant emotions.
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