Many students don’t do well on standardized tests not because they don’t know the information, but because they do not answer the question correctly and according to the directions. In this series, we will look at several key words that come from test directions on high-stakes tests such as state tests used to determine AYP and [...]
Although we originally stayed out of the Common Core conversation for fear that we would look like we were profiteering from this major initiative, many of the schools that we were currently working with asked us for help in making the shift to the Common Core. So we dived into understanding the standards and the [...]
The following is a list of ’20 Random Lessons Learned in Education’ compiled by Charles Washington, a brilliant middle school teacher in Washington, DC from a list of educators that include elementary, middle and high school teachers; college professors; literacy coaches; consultants; librarians; and administrators. Overall, the list is not extremely profound. However, the richness [...]
Frankie Ball was a master teacher and taught me a very valuable lesson about what teaching is all about. I met Frankie Ball when I became an administrator at Pyle Middle School in Bethesda, Maryland a few years ago. Frankie was head of the music department and taught instrumental music. I noticed him right away [...]
Many of us become frustrated that our students don’t complete our homework and tend to blame our students. But, often the problem isn’t our students; it’s the kind of homework we assign. There is a difference between good and bad homework. Good homework offers students a second look at class work, or reinforces what students [...]
Dr. Mike Neal, Coordinator of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Kansas, reminds us in a very moving way of the power that teachers have to meaningfully shape the lives of their students. I entered my first college class in the mid 1960′s at the University of Kansas. It was a Monday [...]
Recently, a teacher with whom I was working confessed to me, “Robyn, I cannot work any harder than I am already working. And yet, my kids aren’t making the progress they need to make to pass the AP test. I am so frustrated.” I hear this a lot. Teachers are working as hard as they [...]
One of my favorite books is a children’s book called The Big Box by Toni Morrison. It’s a story of three children who, because they make the adults uncomfortable, are placed in a big box full of toys and candy and all the things that kids love but with a door that “only opens one [...]
A while ago McDonalds introduced a burger called the McLean Deluxe. Made from a lean hamburger, it was broiled, not fried and came with a fresh tomato slice and fresh lettuce leaf. It was the virtuous alternative to the high-in-saturated fat Big Mac. On the rare occasions when I ate at McDonalds, I would always [...]
Every August, it starts. The new plans for the year, the resolutions, the excited feeling in the pit of my stomach. August offers the ultimate do-over, the perpetual clean slate. I know the new year officially began January 1, but for me, the new year begins in August. If you are like me at all, [...]
