Revisiting the value of informal teaching beyond planned instruction. Wayside teaching was first introduced in the May 1987 “As I See It” column in the Middle School Journal—30 years ago. Here is a slightly modified version of it, particularly for all those educators who came to the middle school more recently. Formal, organized instruction is
For at least a half dozen years I have proudly proclaimed on my website and in webinars that I have a 99% paperless classroom, so you might be surprised to learn that I spent my lunchtime on Friday photocopying packets. My students are fatigued by the thing that used to make my classroom “cool” and
Read More… from Taking it Old School: A Screen Time Interruption
We often rolled our eyes (literally) and stomped our feet (figuratively) when we looked at our pacing guide and saw the week that we would spend teaching account reconciliation. We viewed it as a necessary evil of eighth grade math state standards and as a concept that our students rarely see in action at home.
Read More… from Semester Long Account Reconciliation Project leads to Student Success
Executive Summary Overview Summary Paragraph The middle years are the second largest time of cognitive, physical and behavioral development outside of infancy for the human body. Middle level students are developing their outlooks, experimenting with forming opinions, fostering academic stamina, developing their emotional well being, and determining their place in the civic, social and economic
Read More… from Professional Preparation and Credentialing of Middle Level Teachers
The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) has set forth its vision of the educational program needed to provide a fully effective program for young adolescents in This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010)). This paper is a supplement to that foundational document focusing on the critical areas of curriculum,
Educators have a responsibility to guide the moral development of youth For years I have been concerned over what I view as the seriously truncated understanding of what teaching entails that is now commonly held. Taken hold in most peoples’ minds, it seems, is a very narrow and limited view of teaching, one focused almost