Resolution-Making Tips
“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self,” said renowned author Aldous Huxley, so what are you waiting for? A new year beckons, full of promise and hope. Crush it with goal setting and be resolute moving...
2018: The Year of the Teacher Facts & Figures
Some call 2018 the year of the teacher. After all, thousands upon thousands of teachers in six states hit the streets protesting their unprofessional salaries and school funding cuts, too, and the public finally took notice of their plight. Still, of the 180 classroom...
Christmas Shopping 2018: $$$$
Oops! It appears that Javascript has been disabled in your browser, and this application’s great experience relies on Javascript to function properly. Americans are hitting stores big time—brick and mortar and online--this holiday season. Indeed, after surveying...
Tech’s Brain-Flattening Effects: A Screen Shot
Attention all tech users, especially parents and teachers: In a recent Education Week piece, “Digital Technology Is Gambling with Children's Minds," author and Stanford University professor and researcher Elias Aboujaoude reports that, because of new technologies,...
Education News-Makers: Education Funding, ESSA, ACT, FB, and More
Oops! It appears that Javascript has been disabled in your browser, and this application’s great experience relies on Javascript to function prope 6 EDUCATION NEWS BITES: 1. Thanks to the fiscal 2019 federal budget, the U.S. Department of Education will...
America’s Locked-Up Schools
As USA Today's Greg Toppo recently noted, most of our public schools are locked up and require a keycard or for visitors to be buzzed in by someone in the main office--but only after they've identified themselves and stated their purpose. They may very well be...
Message This: Social Media Is Toxic for Kids
According to Common Sense Media research, teens now spend an average of nine hours a day glued to their devices, with tweens not all that far behind at six. And that doesn't account for tech's use in our nation's classrooms, nor all the computer-required assignments...
Finista: A Secretive Instagram Spinoff Garnering Teen Attention
As reported by Fiza Pirani of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Finista, the latest social media platform gaining teen attention, is a combo of the words fake and Instagram. As she explains, "It is essentially a fake second Instagram account cultivated for a much...
Picting: The New Literacy Amid Declining Writing & Reading Skills
In this era of selfies and emojis, it's no surprise that, in a recent article, veteran elementary/middle school teacher Chrissy Romano-Arrabito says that picting--using images in place of text to convey thoughts and ideas--"is becoming the norm among today's...
The Latest Online Threat: Kids Cyberbullying Themselves
With thanks to USA Today's N'dea Yancey-Bragg: As if news about kids' online activities couldn't get any worse, it just has... Indeed, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 6% of our kids, 6 through 17, have actually bullied themselves digitally. Says...
9 Worrisome School-Related Statistics
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 37% of black, first-time college students who enrolled in 2011-12 were no longer in school after three years. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 30% of Hispanic, first-time college...
Even More Student Data Collecting under ESSA
As Daarel Burnette II reported in the October 26th issue of Education Week, state-issued school report cards are in for a make-over in both appearance and information, and that's no easy matter. It's also a concern for those dubious about the merits of data...
Take Note: Kids Hit the Social Media Pause Button
A survey of 5,000 students conducted by Charlotte Robertson, co-founder of Digital Awareness UK, certainly meets my good news standard. It turns out that many kids are now saying enough is enough when it comes to Facebook and its similarly fetching social media...
From Teamology: A Bullying Prevention Must-Read
In support of Bullying Prevention Month, Amelia teaches students in K-8 how to keep their schools bully free. Amelia is one of six relatable characters developed over decades of research and efficacy. Each character is highly researched and evidenced backed and helps...
Charter Schools: Part of the Problem or the Solution and 19+ Should-Know Facts
As you read on, keep these facts in mind: The 2015 Kids Count report found that children living in poverty jumped from 18% to 22% between 2008 and 2013. According to the 2013 U.S. Census Bureau, the child poverty rate among African-Americans was 39%. In 2103, 48% of...
12 Things To Know about ADD and ADHD
ADD is no longer an acceptable medical term, replaced solely now by ADHD. Per the CDC, ADHD affects 11% of our 14- to 17-year-olds; that adds up to some 6.4 million children, and the numbers are rising. There are three different categories of ADHD: Those with...
Quotable
"I used to say that the greatest gift you could ever give anyone is a book, but I don't say that anymore because I no longer think it's true. I now say that a book is the second-greatest gift. I've come to believe that the greatest gift you can give someone is to take...
Some But Not All Hopeful Signs for 2017
A recent New Year's poll conducted by Associated Press-Times Square Alliance made some fascinating discoveries. Among them: Just 18% said things got better for the country in 2016; 33% said things got worse; and 47% said nothing had changed since 2015. 55% believe...
Common Core’s Shaky Success: Quotes to Consider
With thanks to Naomi Nix and her article, "Student Test Scores Are on the Rise. Does That Mean Common Core is Working," a few quoted differences of opinion: The trend in our state and across the country is clear: Higher standards are translating into meaningful and...
Ed Secretary John King Weighs in on ADHD Services
The U.S, Department of Education is “on it” as they say, this time taking on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, commonly referred to simply as ADHD. One reason: Per the CDC, it affects 11% of our 4- to 17-year-olds, and that not only adds up to some 6.4 million...
