As with most things in education, context can be everything. A skill taught in isolation from meaningful context, for example, is rarely learned, and often becomes grist for blaming the student for his lack of...

What do you remember from your middle school or junior high days? Your test scores? Your grades? Probably not. You are more likely to remember special occasions and events that made a particularly positive...

As I drove home one evening after hosting a showcase of student work, attended by the community, all I could think about was how a new project called Genius Hour had transformed my seventh graders over the course of...

“Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be.” When he wrote those words, could Goethe have foreseen a...

Have you noticed the groundswell of volunteerism during the past few years? In 2006 alone, 60 million Americans dedicated 8.1 billion hours of service to community organizations. More recently, President Obama has...

In the race to complete reports that prove the immediate value-added measures of our teaching, we've lost sight of one of the most powerful teaching tools we have: patience. Teacher patience is the heart of students'...

Academic rigor, achievement on standardized tests, character education, and student behavior will always be important topics, but above all, parents want their children to come home safely and in the same physical...

Today’s students need more than strong academic skills to be successful in the 21st century. To shape their future and the future of our global society, they also need strong leadership skills and a sense...

Are you looking for an effective way to educate this generation of youth who thrive on technology? Try WebQuests! WebQuests are online learning tools linking students to content and resources that are interactive and...

A basic educational principle is that no matter how well teachers design their instruction, students who refuse to engage can ensure the teachers' instruction will come to naught. This simple truth leads teachers on a...