Great teachers don’t teach school, they teach people. They don’t “control” their classes, they lead individuals to thrive. They don’t get kids “caught up,” they meet learners where they’re at and inspire curiosity... Without judgement or shame. They don’t depend on “data to drive instruction,” they inspire people to fall in love with learning. They aren’t concerned with “accountability” because they’re entrenched in authentically caring that students feel like worthy and capable human … [Read more...]
World Domination
It's July 5th, 2013 and I'm heading to the World Domination Summit in Portland, OR. This conference has had a tremendous influence on how I've built my blog. It has been life-changing to be surrounded by the energy of a bunch of people trying to dominate the world with good work. WDS is a group of 3000 amazing people who do good for the world in various capacities (with a tech twist). Last year I met and saw some incredible speakers: Chris Guillebeau - is the ring leader of WDS, a man who … [Read more...]
Plan C
Plan A Kids go to school, conform to the system, learn what they need in order to be "happy & successful", have a great experience, live happily ever after. If that doesn't work... Plan B Get interventions to help the student conform to a broken system that doesn't serve them properly. More tutors, therapists, extra busywork, more testing, special programs, punishments, threats, lectures, etc.. Hopefully they won't learn to resent school. Hopefully they won't end up feeling bad about … [Read more...]
"I'm not smart."
I was recently working with a high school sophomore. Noting her strengths, I gave her a genuine compliment about her intelligence and ability to come up with uniquely creative solutions and viewpoints. She looked at me and said, "but I'm not smart. I get bad grades." My eyes burst wide and I said emphatically, "what do grades have to do with anything? You're not your grades and you are very smart." It's a crime when kids feel this way. Grades are tiny, blurry snapshots, not big pictures. … [Read more...]
Teach with Passion, not "Packets." And a Thanks to Jeff Bliss
By Seth Perler: A parent of one of my former students forwarded this video to me today. The student in this video is my kind of kid. As Jeff Bliss of Duncanville High is getting kicked out of class, he beautifully articulates what too many kids go through. In the video he's talking to his teacher, expressing his frustration about how they're being taught. He says to his teacher that kids need to learn "face to face", that "if you want kids to get excited you gotta make em' excited." "You want … [Read more...]
The Writing Process
"My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip." --Elmore Leonard I've taught writing in various capacities to hundreds of students, from 3rd graders to graduate students. There are numerous systems designed to teach kids how to write, all claiming to be "the way." I prefer to teach the following paradigm, as it provides a fantastically solid foundation. This is a universal approach that works with all ages, so don't … [Read more...]
"Our Natural Sleep Cycle"
Here's a short post which links to a 4 minute TED video about sleep by Jessa Gambale. As I work with families, I try to figure out how well a student is sleeping because of it's effect on his/her daily life. In this clip, Jessa refers to sleep and our internal clock as, "the most underrated force on our behavior." It certainly has a tremendous impact on a student's learning and concentration. In order to keep it simple, I usually start the sleep discussion with a question that gives me enough … [Read more...]
Unitasking vs. Multitasking: What's Best for Students?
Although multitasking has it's place, it's often nothing more than doing several things in succession with diminished quality. When it comes to struggling students trying to learn in our fast paced society, multitasking usually gets in the way. When I unitask, when I am fully present for what I am doing, I find that less is more. More fun, more productive, more interesting, more valuable and even more efficient. Many years ago, I got ahold of a book called The Miracle of Mindfulness by … [Read more...]
6 Supplies Students Really Need
So you get the school supply list and assume that all of the items are necessary. You visit the office store, spend a ton of money to get everything and feel good about crossing this huge task off your list. But your gut wonders if all items were really necessary. You wonder about the impact on the environment. You wonder if your child will use all the supplies. You wonder if you're wasting money, time, energy. You wonder where the teacher will store 25 boxes of tissues and why the school … [Read more...]
Parents, Trust Your Gut
Gut feeling Your gut. Also referred to as the heart, soul, inner voice or intuition. Regardless of what you call it, it’s very different from your mind. It carries a significantly quieter voice from deep within. The mind is LOUD. It chatters incessantly, always trying to ‘figure things out’. Although it has great ideas, we can’t always rely on them. In fact, the mind often tells stories that don’t serve us at all, but it tells them so loudly that it can drown out the gut feeling. The gut … [Read more...]
“Runnin’ Hot” How to work with Stress in School
School is an emotional experience For many students, school is an especially emotional experience. This is critical to remember during transitions. The students I work with are often sensitive to begin with. Their baseline of stress is already a bit high and they can be easily triggered, therefore experiences often feel more intense than they might really be. These students are often sensitive to other distracting stimulus, which further complicates matters: sounds, touch, light, color, … [Read more...]
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