Should we revisit testing as a means of assessment? No doubt, students will need to be prepared for college (or, if you teach middle school high school; if you teach elementary school, middle school), and most colleges still using testing as a primary means of assessing students. After all, when you have a lecture class…
Some weeks ago, I shared exciting news that my students were collaborating with a girls’ school in Israel on a joint wiki writing project. Just as we got our wikis off the ground, a teachers’ strike in Israel put our plans on hold. The strike has now lasted more than a month. If it is…
It looks like UrbanPosters.com shipped my order today, almost exactly three months after I ordered it. I still have not received feedback regarding the lateness or the multiple e-mails, or the BBB complaint, and I suppose I don’t expect to now, as they will feel they fulfilled their end of the bargain. I am not…
Consider this post a public service announcement. Back in mid-August, I ordered two posters from the website poster outfitter UrbanPosters.com. September came and went, and they had not arrived. Furthermore, the company did not respond to numerous e-mails regarding my order. I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but the company has yet…
I guess fans isn’t the right word, is it? I mean, that sounds kind of like you “like” the fact that crime exists. At any rate, my husband is a true crime writer, and he will be appearing on a special for Court TV — MyCase.com: The internet provides a startling new look into the…
On Tuesday, I participated in a parent/teacher/student conference with one of my tenth graders (I also taught her last year), all of my colleagues who also teach her, and the guidance counselor and learning specialist (in addition to, obviously, the parent). I had recommended that this student read Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight, as I thought…
Some of my students made the news today: “Teens take over parking area to make a point” from the AJC. Two of the students mentioned in the article, Julian and Jonathan, were in my class that did the Brave New World projects. They haven’t presented their projects yet, but I know that their utopian society…
ADD permeates my life. My husband and daughter are both ADD, and I frequently teach students who also have ADD. I think I have a higher tolerance for ADD behavior than many people do; I have noticed, for instance, that others frequently seem to be irritated by a student’s behavior while I am scratching my…
Last week, my ninth graders started working on a project associated with their summer reading novel A Lesson Before Dying. One group in particular was really doing a good job, going beyond the links I had given them to find interesting ways in which racism subtly impacts our society. In fact, they learned some things…
Karl Fisch wrote a post Tuesday — “Is It Okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?” — that really, really resonated with me. He was spurred to write it after reading Terry Freedman’s post “Oh, Sir, You are too Kind.” I am in utter agreement with Karl and Terry. It’s time educators (and everyone else,…
