Little meaningful academic learning happens when students’ prerequisite needs go unfulfilled. I often cite the work of psychologist Abraham Maslow in these matters. His famous Hierarchy of Needs explains that cognitive and aesthetic needs (those addressed by academic instruction) can only become ripe for fulfillment when more fundamental needs are met. Assuming that schools see [...]
The best teachers lead classrooms not merely by teaching but by facilitating. They not only create learning experiences; they also create circumstances for learning experiences to come about in various forms. Even better, they create environments that sustain learning on their own. Or perhaps the phenomenon is not as spontaneous and magical as it sounds. [...]
Students represent the most overlooked resource not only in a typical school, but in most communities at large.
By the time I was nine years old, I knew that Hank Aaron had hit 755 career home runs, that Ty Cobb had a lifetime batting average of .367, that Roger Maris had belted 61 home runs in 1961–a single-season record. I knew which baseball teams were in which major league, and I knew for [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on June 21, 2012: Some months ago I wrote about Melanie, a schoolmate of mine who was bullied mercilessly decades ago when we were in the sixth grade. Much of the abuse took place on the school bus, and I wrote about my role as an inert bystander who failed [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on May 24, 2012: Some time ago I completed a master’s degree program in school administration at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education. Shortly thereafter, I received a certificate making me eligible to be a principal or assistant principal. Since then, I have had a few interviews for jobs that [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on March 15, 2012: It is a simple truth: staggering amounts of money—in excess of $600 billion—are spent each year on educating our nation’s children, and as a result, our public school system operates under an enormous burden of scrutiny. Political sticks and carrots—like No Child Left Behind and Race [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on June 12, 2011:When it comes to educating our children, all stakeholders need to remind themselves once in a while of things they must do in order to ensure success. In this post, I share five things that I have learned from my colleagues over the course of my career [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on March 3, 2011: Any true education blog must, in this moment, provide commentary on public policy set at the state level and its impact on public education. Let the highest profile examples and the obvious points come first: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is clearly targeting teachers. He is attacking [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on February 21, 2011: More today about the behavior spectrum of today’s students. I explained in an earlier post that our entire society—adults and children alike—is strongly influenced by our mass media. It helps to isolate and understand some important principles on which our media function. It is obvious that [...]
Real Teaching 