Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Education.
Scissors. Hot glue. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
I had such hopes the day I attended my junior high school tour. I saw a laboratory with phenolic counter tops, sparkling glassware, Bunsen burners, and a teacher demonstrating neat stuff. So cool, I thought. We are going to do experiments and make things and learn. That teacher wasn’t cool, the glassware wasn’t for us, and we couldn’t touch anything. I don’t think we learned anything either. My grade 9 science teacher was hired because he had been a pro football player and would hopefully create a winning team. He had no teaching credentials and it showed.
By David Waymouth5 years ago in Education
Relax and (un)wind
Shortly after my older son was born I found myself, as parents often do, in a series of waiting rooms: doctors, dentists, the reception area at school, the lobby of the martial arts studio. Though being a parent is often exhausting, at the same time I cannot sit idle either. There is in me some frantic urge to make every moment productive, and although I have tried to silence it with meditation and other forms of mindfulness practices it simply will not be quiet, so I have decided to embrace it as healthfully as I can. Dragging around delicate beading project or piecing a quilt top in a waiting room or studio lobby is impractical, and yet I had to have something to keep my hands lightly occupied. (The obvious question here is why not just read a book? The answer is that I’m a librarian for a reason, and a book can keep me so engrossed I will miss all social cues like shuffling feet, throats clearing, doors opening, and my poor child will be left standing there waiting while I finish the chapter.) I began knitting in seventh grade and took a long hiatus while the demands of my early career were in full force, but found it was the perfect solution to the waiting-room problem: fits into my handbag, easy to pick up or put down as needed and produces excellent accessories for giving or keeping. With every knitting project I have started, I’ve aimed to teach myself one new skill, and I have been careful to choose patterns that are not only easy enough to avoid frustration but challenging enough to avoid boredom. Selecting the right yarn for each project is as satisfying as finding the right ingredients for a delicious dish, and I've gotten into the habit of trying to pick up at least a ball or two at an independent yarn store in any new city I visit - the best kind of travel souvenir.
By Alyssa Mandel5 years ago in Education
Let's blow this up!
“We are going to blow things up,” I said to my class. Their eyes lit up and even the most sullen of my middle school students looked up from the phones they thought I couldn’t see. I’m sure they were thinking explosions, but I meant inflatables, giant inflatable structures.
By Faye Hanson5 years ago in Education
Scrap Attack
My sister and I grew up in a household with two educator parents; our mom started as a special education teacher and, by the time she retired, was an autism consultant and a low vision consultant. Our dad was a school psychologist for over 35 years. As you can imagine, dinner table discussions revolved largely around LEARNING and KIDS, and something must have rubbed off, because my sister and I both ended up becoming educators and then moms! I (Lindsey) became a special education teacher and a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with 3 kids of my own, and my sister Kristin is a college chemistry instructor with 2 kids. We both spent years studying and researching the ways in which people learn and master difficult skills and have applied those lessons both to our young children and to our students.
By Lindsey BenGera5 years ago in Education
The Wonder Of Dreams
The Wonder Of Dreams; An Original Approach To Interpreting Them Dan Gollub I became interested in my dreams after a woman I knew seemed to speak to me in the dream as if we were having an actual conversation. Was that dream telepathic? I didn’t know, yet how extraordinary the dream seemed regardless. Subsequent dreams didn’t include any potential examples of telepathy, but each was intriguing in its own way. What did my dreams mean? How could I understand the wonderful messages they surely contained?
By Dan Gollub5 years ago in Education
Prepared To Inspire
Prepared to Inspire At the end of the school year when we have exhausted all of our energy and strength, there is nothing more exciting than preparing our classrooms for the excitement that lies ahead. After having a few summer months off to recuperate from giving everything inside us to our children, it is a joy to take the scissors to cut out the many different patterns, words, letters, and pictures of all the knowledge we plan to teach the following year.
By Seletha Head Tucker5 years ago in Education
Meant To Be
When I first started working for the school district, I had no idea what I was getting into. I’d been laid off for the first time about a month earlier, and I was just trying to get a new job. I got hired to be a teaching assistant for the junior high class for the at-risk and state custody program in the school district. It was going to be more of a transitional job, and I was only planning on being there until I could find a ‘real’ job. I had been a nanny before, so I knew I could work with kids. I thought I was ready.
By Heather Linde5 years ago in Education
English MCQs
Introduction Multiple choice questions or popularly known as MCQs are a popular method of testing a student’s knowledge and understanding of a subject. The most prominent features of an MCQ is the scope of providing multiple options to the students to choose from, which on one hand gives them the chance to exercise on their memory while on the other hand helping them in the process. Objectivity is key in answering MCQs. Therefore, in information-based subjects and language learning, the use of MCQ to assess the students’ progress is unparalleled. This testing method is less time-consuming yet offers a greater amount of learning content to be covered.
By Jane smith5 years ago in Education
