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Supreme Court hears pivotal union arguments
Seth Sandronsky EducationThe fate of classroom teachers and other public-sector union workers remain uncertain after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in the Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 case. Mark Janus, a child-support specialist employed by the State of Illinois, claims the current union law violates his First Amendment rights, and the ruling could have wide-ranging effects on the status of unions in the United States.
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Trauma-informed education: Teaching the whole child
Savanna Flakes EducationThe National Institute of Mental Health defines trauma as "the experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects." The term adverse childhood experience (ACE) refers to a range of events that a child can experience that lead to stress and can result in trauma and chronic stress responses.
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How do we bring back imagination in our schools?
Brian Stack EducationMy wife Erica and I made a startling revelation one recent Saturday afternoon about our five children and a decline in their ability to engage in imaginary play. We often have what we refer to in our house as "no technology Saturdays" in our attempt to get our children away from the screens that seem to dominate their weekdays — particularly as a result of their schoolwork.
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New school security measures include bulletproof backpacks
Michelle R. Matisons EducationIn the wake of the Valentine's Day massacre that killed 17 students and staff at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, some say the public is growing numb to school shootings. But some parents are taking bold steps to ensure the safety of their children, including the purchase of bulletproof backpacks.
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Effectively using news in ESL classrooms
Sheilamary Koch EducationThe number of sites featuring news in levels and news for kids attest to its growing popularity as a learning tool — especially in the ESL classroom. Current world affairs make for compelling conversation starters, and news reports provide authentic examples of how the English language is used in broadcasting this information. For the language learner, the ability to comprehend the facts in a real news story — whether written or spoken — is a big step in employing their second language in everyday life.
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Poor sleep: A powerful — but often ignored — culprit in learning
Howard Margolis EducationIt blocks learning, causes memory difficulties, depletes energy, incites anxiety, evokes arguments and lays the groundwork for serious behavior and health problems. But when students struggle with reading, writing, math and other problems, it's usually ignored, immeasurably adding to the students' struggles.
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More schools adopting Cambridge Assessment standards
Bambi Majumdar EducationThe need to improve college readiness for high school students is an important agenda for educators. Despite years of efforts and debates, U.S. students are still lagging in this aspect. While others are awaiting government and administrative inputs, some schools have gone ahead and applied the Cambridge Assessment standards to their curriculum. The results speak for themselves.
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Grief counseling plays major role in school shooting recoveries
Michelle R. Matisons EducationOn Feb. 14, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, murdered at least 17 people allegedly using an AR-15 assault weapon. He was also armed with smoke grenades and countless magazines.
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Using affixes, roots and base words to improve English learners’…
Erick Herrmann EducationWords. They are powerful and useful, and a key aspect of learning any new language. When it comes to learning a new language, students must absorb individual words and vocabulary — and quite a lot of them — and then figure out how to put those words together into meaningful chunks to create sentences, paragraphs and more.
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A grading debate: Pros and cons of reassessments
Brian Stack EducationIt is a typical day at my New Hampshire high school, and I am observing a biology class. The teacher is returning a recent assessment to her students that they completed on ecosystems. Students are reviewing the teacher's feedback and their grades on the assessment, as noted on the rubric they had been given in advance.
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