Educators don’t always give students a voice when they make a mistake. Punitive systems require blaming one party and punishing them to address the behavior.

However, retaliatory consequences create a temporary bandage for an issue. They do very little to unveil the full story and bring all...

Before you continue reading this post, take some time to reflect on your own school experience.

Whether it was a few years ago, or a few decades ago, what are those learning experiences that you remember most? What were those experiences that kept you most engaged? Which experiences had the best...

It has often been said that to be a runner, all you need is a pair of shorts and some shoes.

While this may be true in theory, from my experience, running goes well beyond those two simple pieces of equipment. Yes, shorts and shoes may be enough to get you started, but at the same time, they may...

Suspensions, detentions, and referrals to the office all have one common flaw: they are exclusionary processes.

Asher threw pencil + Finlee threw pencil = two referrals to the office. They are both removed from the class and “taught” a lesson through the consequence. Throwing pencils...

THE PROBLEM: TEACHERS START THE YEAR WITH “NO”

Ah, yes—the first day of class. That special time of the year when everything starts fresh.

New students. New ideas. New opportunities.

And the same old first-day routine. If you are like many teachers, the first day of class,...

Author and writing coach Angela Stockman on redesigning writing workshops

I remember my first introduction to writing workshop. I was a junior in college, completing my final seminar before student teaching, and the professor who I admired most throughout my undergraduate career assigned the book...

We have a pivotal role at a critical time in education.

For many years, early learning was a luxury—a fun thing for little learners. Now, more research is indicating what educators already knew: that early learning is the most important learning. 

Research-based strategies that are...

It’s hard to assess your current reality and how it came to be when you’re just trying to keep your head above water. As teachers, we often don’t allow ourselves the time to reflect on where we started, where we are, how we got here, and where we want to be.

Teaching creates a...

You’ve probably heard of the song by The Notorious B.I.G., “Mo Problems, Mo Money.” It’s an a cappella choral piece that poetically shares the scientific evidence which backs the claim that the amount of math homework students do per day has a direct impact on the...

Teachers often get swept up in student achievement. That’s totally understandable. It’s one of our primary jobs. But teachers also have an obligation to foster student passion. When students pursue their passion, their spark, they’re engaged.

That spark is hidden in some...