The Self-Esteem Movement’s Leavings
Self-esteem talk got its start way back in the mid-1700’s with the writings of Scottish philosopher David Hume in which he emphasized the importance of self-worth in the quest to attain one’s full potential. Moving forward, in 1890, American philosopher and...
Depersonalized Teaching Gaining Traction in Our K-12 Schools
In the news of late: TikTok under fire, with the U.S. House of Representatives, in March, approving a bi-partisan bill that would force its parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the app or be banned on all of our devices. As noted by Ryan Lovelace of The...
For Better or Worse, Artificial Intelligence Starts Making Its Way into America’s Classrooms
Somehow, we’ve gone from artificial flowers and sweeteners to artificial thinking, calculating, and learning. Heady stuff, no? And very brave new world, even otherworldly. For many, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also scary, the stuff of science fiction, which,...
Seeing Red on Red-Wearing Valentine’s Day
“The heart gets quiet when it gets listened to.” ~ author unknown Whether to impress, reassure, or simply shout it from the rooftops, 52% of us will honor Valentine’s Day by spending, on average, a whopping $192 on gifts. In fact, about 30% of us will spend so...
Writing Beats Keyboarding; Printed Text Beats Digital Text, And Yet…
The Associated Press’s Collin Binkley reports that, “Congress gave schools a record $190 billion but didn’t require them to publicly report individualized purchases…, and the full scope of the spending is unknown.” An Edtech Evidence Exchange analysis says, “The U.S....
Charles Osgood and The Pretty Good Student
Ninety-one years of living and leaving behind a wife of 50 years and five kids. Not too shabby, as they say, and the accolades keep coming in. In the case of Charles Osgood, all well deserved. A CBS newsman for 45 years, he stood tall among journalists for his...
Wonderment…
It took 700 days, but here in the Philly area, it finally snowed on Tuesday. Supermarket cash registers hummed, schools closed, and sledding made a comeback. Today, Friday of the same week and around 5 o’clock this morning, the white, fluffy stuff started falling...
You Got Rizz? You Authentic? Numbers Your Thing?
A New Year, a New Word of the Year, Well, Actually Three… The first Word of the Year comes from dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster. Its choice, made after “searches on the company’s website and on world events” is authentic. Says the company’s editor Peter...
2024 New Year Resolutions: Yes? No?
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better person.” ~ Benjamin Franklin It’s the first day of a whole new year, so will you be first stepping into 2024 with self-help promises in mind? After all,...
Hooked by Design on Social Media
They did it on purpose right from Facebook’s start back in 2004, designing algorithms that would keep kids repeatedly coming back for more, addicting them to social media: 35% of U.S. teens report “almost constant” use of social media platforms 42% of U.S. teens...
“You Can’t Buy Love, But You Can Rescue It”
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France, 1921 Nobel Laureate For the fifth year, Subaru's National#MakeADog’sDay, October 22, once again "shines the spotlight on hard-to-adopt dogs—the older, deaf, blind, and...
A School-Wise Start-of-Fall Update
Ah, change; am not very good at it, but here we go anyway, as summer loosens its grip, the sun moves into Libra, and fall officially arrives tomorrow, September 23. Officially called the autumnal equinox, it’s one of the only two times a year that the earth’s axis...
Civics Knowledge by the Numbers as the Constitution Turns 236 on 9/17
“If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.” ~ ~ Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father and the 3rd president of the United States Of Note: On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),...
2023’s Changing Face of America’s Public Schools
Of Note: This week The New York Times published the Opinion piece, “We Can Only Fight Learning Loss with Accountability.” In it, Michael J. Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and visiting fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, writes “The bad...
The Scoop on 4 Strategies in Place to Combat Teacher Shortages
“Because one teacher made a seat for me, I found my passion.” ~ Rebecka Peterson, 2023’s National Teacher of the Year FACT: A June 2023 analysis conducted by districtadministration.com found that: Nearly 30% of teachers left the profession during the 2021-22 school...
Teachers +Artificial Intelligence = Buyer Beware
Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer reminds us that, “The most important thing in education, in my opinion, is staring into the eyes of an inspiring human teacher. Again, a lot of it comes from motivation. If there’s a teacher who can really make me want to succeed, want to...
Take a Bow, Mr. Edison
As you well know, August 1st came and went, taking with it every last incandescent lightbulb on store shelves. Banned after 16 years on the chopping block, all you can do now is use any still on hand or toss them out. It's now LED bulbs’ time to shine, and they do it...
Peeking behind School Doors…
** Clark County School District—our 5th largest—has joined such states as California and Virginia in moving toward “equitable grading." Though it can take different forms, it's said to give students more chances to prove their mastery of a subject with no...
Teaching Today: Still a Calling or Now Just a Job?
I was not “called” into teaching; instead, I fell into it after finally asking, “What do English majors do?” The usual answer was teach, so I did, and I loved it and the 8th graders who, year after year, graced my classroom. I left it behind because I got old,...
Trillions in Spending, Trillions in Debt, and Schooling’s Piece of the Pie
There never seems to be enough of the green stuff to go around, and sometimes songs are written about it, like Abba's “Money, Money, Money," which starts off with: "I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to payAin't it sad?And still there never...
