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Virtual reality in the classroom
Brian Stack EducationI made the mistake of bringing Brady and Cameron, my 11- and 9-year-old boys, with me last month to the store when it was time to upgrade my phone. Much to the dismay of my wife Erica, the salesperson also sweet-talked me into buying a virtual reality (VR) headset, like one of these.
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Searching for the greatest gift
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationBehaving as UFC contestants, millions of Americans savagely attack and brutalize each other on Black Friday as they make their best efforts to snatch, grab and seize the gifts they demand for themselves and those on their Christmas lists. Along with the daily overdose of violence that envelops us — whether in our home, our neighborhood, our city, our country, or in homes, neighborhoods, cities and countries far away — at the "holidays," we see extra shots of the worst of what we arrogantly call "humanity," by way of 24/7 news and online video sharing sites.
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The challenge of monitoring student growth with today’s learners
Mark S. Miller EducationToday's educational environment is vastly different from those of your parents and grandparents. Educational settings have transformed from brick and mortar to blended learning opportunities to cyber classrooms. The 21st-century student has challenged teachers to re-examine their teaching styles and methods of delivery. The challenge of meeting the needs of the 21st-century student and accountability standards mandated by federal and state regulations has pressured teachers to create new techniques to ensure student growth.
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Schools nationwide celebrate their diversity
Bambi Majumdar EducationWe need to highlight the importance of diversity in our schools, now more than ever. The nation that is known as the "melting pot" of cultures needs schools that embrace and celebrate this diversity. This year we've seen schools and districts take this celebration one step further by imbibing the theme into the very framework of daily lessons. One outstanding example of this is Stoklosa Middle School in Lowell, Massachusetts.
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How changes to ESSA will affect schools
Cait Harrison EducationA new presidential era means more changes are in store for education. On March 27, President Donald Trump signed bills rolling back two regulations measuring school accountability and teacher training under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The school accountability measure overwhelmingly passed in the Republican-controlled House, but narrowly made it out of the Senate with a 50-49 vote — despite opposition from business, labor and civil rights groups, as well as Democrats.
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The challenges of teaching ESL in community college
Douglas Magrath EducationMany second-language students end up in community colleges either in IEP programs or college preparatory classes. Some community colleges also provide adult basic education, which prepares resident internationals to become citizens and enter the workforce. As discussed in a previous article, adult education English language courses (ESOL) offer a unique set of challenges that are different from those presented by the typical intensive programs at state universities and private language schools.
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The debate over grading and ranking public schools
Brian Stack EducationFor more than a decade, states have published grades and ranks of their schools as part of the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a federal mandate first signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2002. Since that time, many states have developed a system that uses common measures such as standardized test scores and graduation rates to generate letter-grade report cards for schools, similar to the ones that students are issued.
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The promise and burden of the Supreme Court ruling on disabilities
Howard Margolis EducationThroughout the country, parents of children with disabilities and advocates are celebrating the Supreme Court's unanimous Endrew F. v. Douglas County decision on March 22. And they have every right to do so.
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What parents of gifted students desperately want your school to know
Susan Winebrenner EducationAs a young adult, I paid to sign up for an adult course called "Advanced Bridge." After playing "at bridge" for some years, this class sounded intriguing. After the first 15 minutes of the class, as the instructor was answering several questions that clearly belonged in a Beginning Bridge class, I excused myself and went home. No one stopped me because as an adult, this was my prerogative.
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Listen up: Understanding the truth behind learning disabilities
Susan Winebrenner EducationCan you remember when you tried to learn something you really wanted to know how to do? And it didn't work the first time. Or the fifth time. Or even now — years later. For me it has been sailing, which is my bliss and which I have been trying to master for decades. But I still don't get it intuitively, because you learn sailing by doing it. And I now know I don't easily learn that way.
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