Sponsors, are you ready for an alarming statistic? According to a recent report conducted by Common Sense Media, kids aged 2-11 are exposed to over 25,000 ads per year. That’s almost 2,100 ads per month. Put another way, that’s an incredible 15 ads per hour. So yes, we truly live in advertising age. While it’s…
When I was in school, we used to get our final report card mailed to us in the summer. This was before email, so I’d run to the mailbox every day a little bit anxious. We all get nervous about our grades, but what made me most anxious was finding out who my teachers for the next…
There’s one particular photo that I haven’t been able to take my mind off since it was published over a year ago. Take a look at this moving picture of three kids from Flint, Michigan. You’ll be glad you did. The context of this photo is just as moving as the kids are – compelled…
I’ll never forget my first job teaching in the South Side of Chicago. It was gratifying to be making a difference in a community that needed difference makers. There were some limitations, but in teaching you can’t ask for better professional development than to make due with what you’ve got. We used old textbooks, and…
Recently, I overheard a conversation by a group of parents enjoying the day in one of our local dog parks. They were talking about trying to find a fidget spinner at a nearby store. Fidget spinners, if you haven’t heard, have been all the rage this year in classes across the world. As I listened to…
Now that most schools are off for the summer, the countdown has officially begun until the start of the school year – two months, or about 87,600 minutes, and counting. For kids used to an eight hour school day, that’s 480 extra minutes each day to keep themselves occupied, not including homework, or any other clubs that they do after…
Let’s face it. Students love summer. No school to wake up early to. Long days by the pool or on the baseball field, sleepovers, and, of course, time for movies, video games and Snapchat. With this in mind, here are a few ideas for keeping kids engaged and fresh for the fall, with insights from…
Technology, busy on-the-go parents, the new “mobile world” order, instant information screaming at you through screens and earbuds all conspire to overwhelm you with data. We live in a data rich, information poor environment where it is hard to get your message across when there is so much noise. Today’s K thru 12 schools are…
Below is a funny story about self confidence from author and humorist Harvey Mackay. As you can see from the story, self confidence alone might not get you there, but it is the key to moving forward. Every teacher knows that self confidence goes a long way to improving student performance. Read and enjoy: A…