In my first year of teaching, I was actively looking for new ways to renew my students' excitement for learning. My search led me to Google's 20% Time initiative, where employees are given 20% of their working time to...

I'm an 80s kid. I was born in 1977 and spent the bulk of my childhood in the greatest decade ever. I wore knee high striped socks with my short shorts. I listened to Michael Jackson, Tiffany, and Guns and Roses. My...

A typical middle school classroom includes young adolescents with a range of skills, interests, abilities, and personalities. One student may relate any topic of study to a favorite sport or video game. Another...

We absolutely love walking into kindergarten classrooms. There is a richness in colors that cover the walls, activities, and learning stations can be found scattered across the room, and let's face it, those cubbies...

Imagine a photo of the Grand Canyon, jagged peaks under a summer sky. In the foreground, a father holds a round-bellied little girl in a yellow shirt and sandals. Feet dangling, the girl stares at his collar, while he...

A current United States Food and Drug Administration public service announcement starts with "There's an epidemic spreading…" The ad goes on to provide a visual representation of how smoking e-cigarettes...

An exploding mixture! A cloud in a bottle! Every student's hand in the air to volunteer. Everyone's laughing. Sounds like an educator's dream. But when the dust (or simulated volcano) settles, it is often difficult to...

Best practices in social studies education have changed significantly over the last six years. With the release of the Common Core State Standards and its state variations, along with the C3 Framework by the National...

As societal pressures intensify and expectations push educators to improve achievement rates, create emotionally healthy environments, and make safety a priority, there is an increasing need to infuse joy into the...

Most teachers actively root for their students to succeed. They are often more committed to student learning than the students themselves. Even with the best of intentions, teachers frequently sabotage their students'...