With the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic getting worse in most of the country, a growing number of school districts from San Francisco to Atlanta have determined that a return to daily in-person instruction isn’t yet safe or viable. They aim to to stick with remote learning as the school year gets underway.
Read MoreNow that we’re spending so much time at home, I predict that it won’t be just our houseplants and pets that will thrive. Upending the tightly scheduled days of parents and children has provided more time for an activity that allows children to flourish: play.
Read MoreTeaching is challenging in the best of times. Now teachers are being asked and told to do more than ever: prepare in-person, online and hybrid lessons, allay students’ anxieties, and risk their own and their families’ health while serving students and families, often in communities where the pandemic isn’t anywhere near under control.
Read MoreIn this case, if we can't meet with our students eye to eye, lets' make independent reading a priority. The one thing that the pandemic gives us is time. The one thing that all research shows is that time spent reading is the best way to improve reading. So we have a potentially winning formula in front of us. How do we make it happen?
Read MoreParents and children are also grappling with cancelled sports, camps, and activities this summer, or reduced-capacity daycare centres. Parents typically rely on these activity and care options to keep kids busy, and parents’ time scheduled. This means unscheduled months ahead. Some parents undoubtedly will continue to struggle with finding ways to occupy their children.
Read MoreAs the summer whittles down, my district has yet to release its reopening plan. Meanwhile, no communication from administrators or school directors, no public meetings, nothing.
Read MoreTake the highway! For four years, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has worked to destroy democratic public schools and the teaching profession while touting her Education Freedom plan, vouchers. But Americans should be asking what she really means by educational freedom after this past week.
Read MoreDespite all the research that tells parents how good it is for their children to spend time playing outside, they are spending more time indoors than ever before.
Read MoreWhy is it that humans speak so many languages? And why are they so unevenly spread across the planet? As it turns out, we have few clear answers to these fundamental questions about how humanity communicates.
Read MoreWe need good reporters to spread the message of what students need to learn, while supporting teachers with honesty and understanding, and who will bring teachers together with parents, not divide them. There’s always hope that people can change. I think after the last week, we’re all banking on that.
Read MoreIn an earlier post I laid out what I believe to be the multiple reasons for reading failure in this country: income inequity, racism and segregation, brain-based reading disorders, environmental factors, and quality of instruction. Without addressing all of these issues, some societal, some child-based, and some school-based, we will never adequately address some children's failure to thrive.
Read MoreThe answer to why some children do not learn to read is complex. And, therefore, the solutions must match that complexity. Until we recognize this fact, we will continue to search for simple solutions that will inevitably fail. What are the reasons for some children failing to thrive as readers?
Read MoreDecades of research shows that one of the key ingredients for a sense of belonging is frequent interaction with diverse groups of peers. Such interactions not only allow students to learn from one another – they also improve student perceptions of the campus climate as a whole.
Read MoreI hope that many colleges and universities will keep trying to meet the growing needs of their undocumented students, even if Trump keeps trying to end DACA. Some of the ways schools can do that is by paying DACA application and renewal fees, providing free on-campus legal aid and offering access to mental health counselors.
Read MoreGetting some fresh air surrounded by greenery can do more than just clearing your head, it might just keep you sane. A number of scientific studies have shown that nature experiences may benefit people’s psychological well-being and cognitive function.
Read MoreChildren’s social worlds have been upended by the suspension of school and extracurricular activities due to the pandemic. Many older children and adolescents have been able to maintain their friendships over social media. But, for younger children, this approach is less likely to be available to them and less likely to meet their social needs
Read MoreMoms and teachers hold the key to how schools should run. They’re closest to the student. I asked Moms what they wanted from their public schools. I collected their comments and added a few of my own.
Read MoreHoping to capitalize on Corona pandemic school closings, ersatz school reformers are “reimaging education” to shift it online and towards private profit. Unfortunately, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has provided admirable national leadership during the Corona pandemic, is buying into their magical promises.
Read MoreWhile Ken Goodman spent his life and career dedicated to reading and literacy, leaving behind a legacy of wide-reaching influence through his scholarship and embodying an ethic of kindness and inquiry, the selective use of interviews and incomplete references to research in the EdWeek article construct a distorted and tarnished image of a powerful voice in the field of education.
Read MoreI don’t consider myself to be an artist, or an art teacher. Yet, when I am teaching in the classroom, it is my habit to ask myself, “Where are the arts?”
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