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 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 July 25, 2011: I have not posted in some time, as I’ve been away for several weeks due to illness and travel. I’ll use this post to tell a brief story whose moral is that we all ought to set some limits for ourselves. I had a week off [...]
Originally posted on Open Salon on May 31, 2011: I do not allow myself as a teacher to play favorites. I may have a favorite novel to teach or a favorite unit; I even have favorite colleagues. But when it comes to the students, I make it a point to favor no one—not an individual, [...]
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 January 30, 2011: The initial post on this blog raised some questions to be taken up at a later date. Now might be a good time to explore some realities that have emerged in the modern public school classroom—realities that may not be entirely clear to people who have [...]
Originally published on Open Salon on January 27, 2011: Teacher tenure comes up often lately in the discussion about how to improve our schools. The prevailing view of tenure holds that once a teacher has it, he or she has a secure job for life. Most people believe that tenured teachers can only lose their [...]
Real Teaching 