Despite the trend to do so, teachers should never treat race conversations with students as a "moment's theater," says Matthew Kay, a Philadelphia educator and author of "Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom." When white teachers stand up in front of students to declare they're…

Determining the effectiveness of physical education teachers is a difficult process complicated by the expectations of the building principals, the extensiveness of national and state standards, student ability levels, and the severely limited time that the programs are allotted. The dearth of effective, efficient evaluation tools lends itself to…

This paper is comprised of two essays by the same author. The first essay, "Reading and Writing," refers to two books written by Dan Koeppel as an introduction to the topic of plagiarism in education and the temptation that both educators and students face to cheat. A "Big Lister" is described by Dan Koeppel in his book,…

Both contemporary popular and scholarly discourse on teacher development and evaluation assumes the truth of a certain view of normative human behavior, one that holds that skill in a given domain is predicated upon the application of maxims, rules, or principles in a given situation. Such a view would allow one to isolate behaviors associated…

Through this paper we try to convey the necessity to provide the workforce with a labor force that is academically and technologically ready to meet the 21st century global demands. We feel this is accomplished by providing the students at MBIT [Middle Bucks Institute of Technology] with industry-standard equipment, academic and technology…

In this article, part of the Why I Teach essay series, the author shares how he developed his love for teaching and the failures and successes he experienced as a teacher. He used to hate teachers but everything changed when he entered college. He took general education classes and began to notice the difference between the great teachers and the…

In Canada, non-permanent faculty are no longer simply a reserve, flexible labour pool available for administrators to draw on when needed (e.g. during times of fluctuating enrollments); rather, they represent a strategy utilized by universities to reduce overall labour costs. In this article I bring together Women's Studies, feminism, contingent…

As teachers, we want to motivate our students to learn during a unit and to continue learning about the topic after the unit ends. This article describes about a hundred methods we use to help motivate students to learn. The methods form 12 categories: (1) making content relevant to student values and goals; (2) helping students achieve their…

There are some children that teachers just do not feel the same way about as they do others in their classrooms. In fact, there are some children that teachers may actively dislike. This is not uncommon. But what can a teacher do when this is the case? In this article, the author gives advice to teachers who have problems with negative feelings…

Presents examples of enthusiastic teaching to illustrate how teachers could and should arouse Canadian students' interest in Canada through maintaining their own priorities and values to ensure fair, thoughtful presentation of Canadian culture and history. (Author/CB)

Suggests that one of the most compelling reasons teachers should write with students is that it motivates the students. Discusses how a ninth-grade English teacher shares with students her own successes and failures with writing, giving students insight and perspective into their own writing. (RS)

Describes one highly respected educational innovator's views on excellence in teaching, particularly regarding drama. (SR)

Retirement can be a time of creativity and service to others. The Music Educators National Conference (MENC) is making it possible for retired members to continue their service to music, music education, and MENC. (Author/AM)

Academic patterns of power (over students, curriculum, etc.), pretense (faculty claims about competence and experience), and piggybacking (conversion of institutions into education conglomerates) reveal some ethical issues. The patterns are deeply rooted, each with historical reason for being and current justification, yet each has outcomes that…

Describes the creation and eventual demise of a technologically advanced distance-learning facility. Concludes that it is critical, especially in an expensive high-tech environment, to listen to the customers and use their feedback to constantly improve service. (SR)