At the beginning of each school term, bulletin boards sport fresh ideas and desks glisten, but will students entering the classroom have their expectations met? Will they be engaged in the learning? How can teachers utilize resources and enlist others to provide an even stronger and more effective learning environment? In this article, the author…

Virginia Beach City Public Schools had decided to embrace differentiation as its philosophy of instruction. Differentiation was added to the teacher evaluation rubric, and by 2003 Virginia Beach launched full force into a division-wide focus on Carol Ann Tomlinson's model for differentiation. (Tomlinson is the author of several books on the…

When the authors recently examined a federal survey of students in elementary and high schools around the country, they found that many students are not being challenged in school. Their findings include: (1) Many schools are not challenging students and large percentages of students report that their school work is "too easy"; (2) Many…

Opera is music, art, theater, and storytelling. It resembles many musical, visual, theatrical, and literary forms children have already experienced whether they realize it or not. It is an art form that can reach virtually every child on some level because of its emotional power. It can speak to all types of learners because there are many…

Instructors all around the country are creating online courses for the first time. Yet a standardized format and structure for online courses has not yet emerged. So, for many who are facing this task, it feels like a do-it-yourself project, especially for those who are working in organizations that cannot offer much in the way of guidance and…

The importance of effective principals to school reform is well-documented. But what makes a school principal an effective change agent, and how can a school board and district administrators assist in pushing their top site leaders to excellence? Many district and board leaders say it's all about vision, building trust with staff, and developing…

More than 1 million people have watched the online video in which Salman Khan--a charming MIT math whiz, Harvard Business School graduate, and former Boston hedge-fund analyst--explains how he began tutoring his cousins in math by posting short lessons for them on YouTube. Other people began watching the lessons and sending Khan adulatory notes.…

Recently, the Modern Language Association (MLA) called for a major reorganization of undergraduate academic programs and even the structure of foreign-language departments. Typically, the initial two years of language instruction are taught by non-tenure-track instructors with little or no voice in the department. Faculty members mainly teach the…

The word "cyberbullying" didn't even exist a decade ago, yet the problem is pervasive today. Simply put, cyberbullying is the repeated use of technology to harass, humiliate, or threaten. When people take to the keyboard or cell phone and craft messages of hate or malice about a specific person, cyberbullying is emerging. And unlike…

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process by which people develop the skills to recognize and manage emotions, form positive relationships, solve problems that arise, motivate themselves to accomplish a goal, make responsible decisions, and avoid risky behavior. The Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), at the University of…

The need to educate man in ways to liberate himself from disease, starvation, and other undesirable conditions is stressed. (CK)

Teachers who attempt to make their courses meaningful to their students will communicate better with them. (CK)

In this article, the author stresses the importance of including the discussion of the war in Iraq in the curriculum. He further shares how, in the spring of 2005, he had asked middle school and high school students what they thought about the Iraq War, what they had learned about the war in school, and what they would like to learn. Their answers…

In traditional Chinese medicine, a key maxim is "Zhi Bing Yao Zhi Gen," which literally means, "To cure a disease one must cure the underlying cause." The author was reminded of this principle when she reflects on K-12 math education reform when the US. President Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address prompted yet another wave…

The preparation of teachers to teach art to elementary school children is discussed. (CK)