What about college readiness? I hear this from time to time during workshops as we discuss things like lesson structure, homework, grading, student ownership, or even multiple attempts on assignments. Whenever an educator wants to continue doing something like lecturing all the time, or scold and punish a student for forgetting a pencil, they say: “we need to prepare them … Read More
Let Your Students Fail (Video)
Hi, guys. Today I want to talk about something called failure. It’s something we’ve probably all experienced. More importantly, it’s something our students experience. Some of our students experience this so much that they actually get immune to it. That’s why that student, when you hand out that paper, goes “Psh, I’m not doing that.” The reason that students fight … Read More
The Power of “YET” In Your Classroom
More Than A Word… One of the most powerful transformations I ever made to my classroom was how I dealt with student failure to foster growth and progress. It was more than just changing my instruction, it was also changing the way I talked to, interacted with, and reacted to students when they struggled. This required a large culture shift … Read More
5 Ways to Give Your Students More Freedom in Your Classroom
Let Freedom Ring in Your Classroom! When the bell rings, is it the ring of freedom or that of condemnation for your students at the start of class? Freedom is something that we hold very dear to our hearts in this country. We wave flags to celebrate it, our soldiers sacrifice their lives to protect it, and we tout it … Read More
Stop Hiding and Start Standing Out While Teaching
I distinctively remember during in my first year of teaching; a colleague telling me: “Hey, your first year of teaching…just blend in and fly under the radar to get through it.” I also remember nodding my head and smiling as I thought, “WHY?” I made the decision, then and there, that I wasn’t going to take the well intentioned advice of … Read More