Blogs

Until recently, schools banned the use of cell phones and other mobile devices by students during class hours. While some students argued that the devices could be helpful to the learning process, teachers and administrators focused instead on those students who used the devices for non-learning related tasks, such as texting their peers and trolling the Internet.  Although the abuse of mobile devices by students is still a valid concern, some enterprising educators have embraced mobile technology and are increasingly incorporating it into the curriculum.

The plants around us provide a perfect hands-on biologyclassroom for students of all ages.  Fromplanting that first bean in a paper cup to conducting more involved andcomplicated high-school biology experiments, studying plants can be aneffective, concrete, fun, and low-cost way for students to explore the livingworld. 

Autumn doesn’t officially start until next week, but thesigns that the season is imminent are all around us. The nights have becomenoticeably cooler, and the days shorter. Trees are beginning to change color,and will soon begin shedding their leaves. For many plants, the lifespan of their hardworking leaves has come to anend; they will soon color, shrivel, and finally die. In some parts of thecountry, many plants will remain dormant for the winter, and only graduallyre-animate in the spring, when they unfurl new leaves.

You probably remember exactly where you were and what you were doing on the morning of September 11, 2001.  On that day, history gained a new day of infamy that will be a part of American History classes from now on.  Although this piece of contemporary history is seared in their parents’ minds, it might be just another story for many students who are too young to remember the events themselves. In remembrance of the tenth anniversary of this tragedy, many teachers are planning to cover the events and the aftermath in some way.  Teachers have a chance to use this awful event to continue the learning for future generations.

This week marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11. For me, the only day that was worse than September 11, 2001 was September 12, 2001. By then, the shock of what had happened was starting to recede, and the grim reality of the utter devastation was sinking in. Most of our K-12 students are too young to remember much, if anything, about that day, but it remains a watershed event in American history.

I remember the commotion started by Teen Talk Barbie when she announced, “Math class is tough!” in the early nineties.  After only a few months, the phrase was taken out of the dolls’ vocabularies and Mattel swapped out the dolls that still said the phrase.

It’s always fun to do something unexpected in the classroom, and to watch the kids’ reactions. It’s especially gratifying when the event furthers a curricular goal, or makes subject matter more palatable to the students.

Eating disorders and body image issues can be life changing for students during the adolescent years. They are, at the very least, a distraction from learning and can escalate quickly into a major problem for your students. Seeing these types of issues in the school setting, has reminded me how important it is to include life skills in my teaching. We are in the business of teaching our students how to be healthy and successful as much as we are in the business of teaching them the specifics of our particular subject areas. 

A new book aimed at six-to-twelve year olds will hit the shelves in October, and it’s already generating a lot of comment in the press and from nutritionists. The book is entitled Maggie Goes on a Diet, and it tells the story of an overweight and insecure girl who diets and exercises her way to becoming a soccer star.

First of all, I’d like to say that I love Facebook.  I move around a lot, and it has been a great way to keep up with all of my friends and family who live far away.  For many people, sites like Facebook and Twitter are simply places to network socially.  They provide a simple way to share with the world the answer to “What’s on your mind?”.