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Tom McHale

Taking Small Steps Towards Change At A Big, Traditional High School | MindShift | KQED ... - 0 views

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    ""The high school structure doesn't work for every student," said West Seattle Principal Ruth Medsker. Often big high schools like West Seattle require students to be compliant in order to fit in and that can lead to disengagement. Medsker is interested in finding models within her large school that offer something different to students who want it. "How do we make the system fit the child instead of trying to make the kid fit the system?" she asked. Teachers at her school are exploring this question in a variety of ways, including through a pilot advisory-type program that began with a cohort of 25 tenth graders. "The idea was these students have promise, they have skills, they have things to offer, but something about our school system wasn't working for them," said Matt Kachmarik, who acted as the advisor, social studies and English teacher to this group of students. As much as possible, school staff tried to give these 25 kids schedules that would allow them to take classes together. They also focused on non-cognitive skills using reflection, team-building games and discussion to tease out what was going on outside of school, as well as barriers to learning inside its walls. "I definitely have some students who are among the deepest thinking of anyone in the entire grade," Kachmarik said. Some of them are under a lot of stress or have experienced trauma or just don't have strong executive functioning skills, but they've found a home in what they call the Focus program."
Tom McHale

Vt. High School Takes Student Voice to Heart - Education Week - 0 views

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    "Unlike most American high schools, student leadership at Harwood Union High School isn't limited to campaigns for cleaner bathrooms or better cafeteria food. Here, teenagers are deeply involved in shaping the pillars of school life, from the daily class schedule to the styles of teaching and learning that work best for them. Aided by community groups that have trained them in leadership techniques, young people and adults at Harwood have forged an unusually strong and equal partnership over the past eight years. They developed decisionmaking processes that put students at the heart of the biggest school decisions. When new teachers are hired, report cards are redesigned, or honors classes are revamped, students are at the table, debating, sharing research, listening, and voting. That work has made this unassuming school in Vermont's Green Mountains a national model for educators who believe students deserve the right to play a central role in creating their school experience."
Tom McHale

Race, masks and vaccines are fueling school board threats : NPR - 0 views

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    "All over the country, local school board members, who are typically volunteers or serve for small stipends, have indeed been placed on the front line of a national culture war. Protestors are mobilizing against masks, vaccines, LGBTQ rights, removing police from schools, and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In early October, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to meet with state and local authorities to create "strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff." BACK TO SCHOOL: LIVE UPDATES She Joined The School Board To Serve Her Community. Now She's In The Crossfire NPR spoke to school board members in California, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania, in addition to Watkins and a fellow board member in Georgia. All of them told similar stories: of being yelled at in meetings that are sometimes brought to a halt entirely; receiving threatening letters; being followed to their cars; and being photographed or filmed."
Tom McHale

It's Time to Rethink School Schedules, Report Says - Teacher Beat - Education Week - 1 views

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    "Much of a teacher's day is devoted to instruction, with precious little time set aside for collaborating with colleagues, planning lessons or reflecting on practice, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress. The authors of "Reimagining the School Day" point out that U.S. educators spend far more time teaching lessons and less time planning them than educators in other top-performing countries. In a typical work week, U.S. teachers spend about 27 hours delivering lessons, compared with their counterparts in Singapore, who teach 17 hours each week, or to teachers in Finland, who log 21 hours a week. The authors cite a survey of 120 U.S. school districts that shows that just 45 minutes of a typical teacher's 7.5-hour workday is dedicated to planning. What's more, the authors say, teachers could benefit from observing each other, but there's no time built into the school day to do such observations. Unless, that is, schools begin to rethink the school day. The report highlights five schedules that aim to revamp how teachers spend a typical school day. All the schedules include more time for teachers to work together to plan lessons, flexible instruction blocks that allow teachers to tailor instruction to students' particular needs, and opportunities for small-group instruction and student-directed learning."
Tom McHale

How Can Students Have More Say in School Decisions? | MindShift - 0 views

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    "Two years ago, Zak Malamed and a few friends held their first Twitter chat for students who were feeling frustrated about how little say they had in the school reform debates going on all around them. At the time, Malamed and two other friends were still in high school, and one friend was in college. But when they formed Student Voice, the group that rose out of that first chat, they agreed that "Revolutionizing education through the voices and actions of students," in whatever form that would take, would be their mission. "Students want to achieve in school. They want to find purpose being in school." said Malamed. "They want to discover their talents. Without students having a voice, we cannot collectively ensure that this will all happen for every student.""
Tom McHale

How to Bring 'More Beautiful' Questions Back to School | MindShift | KQED News - 0 views

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    "Paradoxically, when kids go to school they stop asking so many questions. "Children enter school as question marks and leave schools as periods," Berger said, quoting Neil Postman.* But why? There are a lot of understandable reasons why questioning drops off in school. Foremost among them is time. "Time really conspires against questioning," Berger said. "In the classroom there often isn't time to let kids ask their questions." And really good, deep questions often take a lot of time to unravel - more time than a harried teacher trying to cover all the curriculum often feels she can afford. And while time pressure is a very real part of teaching, not making time for questioning says a lot about how valuable it is to us. People make time for the things they value."
Tom McHale

Pascack Valley High School English teacher enlists 'open classroom' concept in teaching... - 0 views

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    "Morone, with the backing of the high school district's administration, has developed an "open classroom" curriculum for all of the sophomore honors English students where students are given independence to demonstrate they have mastered the same standards the school has been using for years. "We are using the same core texts, the same curriculum designed by the school and approved by the board of education - but the way we are approaching the curriculum is very different," Morone said. "The first word that has to be put out there about it is that it is non-linear." Dr. Barry Bachenheimer, the regional director of curriculum in the district, said Morone's class is part of a "larger idea" of allowing flexibility to foster learning in the Pascack Valley High School District - which includes the "Pascack Period," a weekly 88-minute period where students can study, work out or sign up for non-traditional classes taught by teachers and even students. "
Tom McHale

Increasing Student Voice in Local Schools and Districts | Edutopia - 0 views

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    "The most frequent cliché I hear regarding educational policy is, "We're doing this for the good of the students." We undoubtedly mean that, but the fact that students are not included in district-wide and school-wide decision making essentially excludes them from expressing what they perceive as "for the good of the students." It should be conventional wisdom that including students directly and empowering them to help shape high school and district policy would be educationally beneficial for both schools and students."
Tom McHale

17 Books You Should Add To Your Usual Back-To-School List - 0 views

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    This is the list that Kathy Dittirch sent out. Some interesting pairings here. "The classics tend to dominate English teachers' plans, and throughout grade school, high school and college you're often stuck reading the same ol' tomes off the same ol' lists. So, let's fix that. The writers at HuffPost Culture teamed up to create an alternative back-to-school reading list, in which books like The Giver and Heart of Darkness are replaced with works like On Such A Full Sea and The World and Me."
Tom McHale

Watch Out TED Talks: Here Comes A New Generation | MindShift - 0 views

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    TED's educational arm is launching TED-Ed Clubs, an effort to support students who research, write and present and record their own ideas in a TED talk format. "The goal is to stimulate and celebrate the best ideas of students around the world," said TED-Ed Director Logan Smalley. TED-Ed piloted the project with 100 schools, focusing mostly on middle and high school aged students. Most of the pilot schools started with TED-Ed clubs held during lunch or after school, but some teachers incorporated materials into the classroom. TED-Ed also offers free guiding materials for 13 club meetings, taking students through the step-by-step process of creating a TED talk.
Tom McHale

Survey Your Students to Increase Student Engagement - 0 views

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    "The Gallup Student Poll is an online poll made up of 20 well-researched questions designed to assess the hope, engagement, and wellbeing of students in the U.S. The poll takes eight to ten minutes to complete, and is entirely free to any public or private school in the United States. After your students complete the poll, you will receive a detailed report on the engagement level at your school. This report can be monumental in discovering elements of your school community that can be improved upon to increase student engagement. The act of administering the Gallup Student Poll, or any poll designed to research student engagement, is also an excellent opportunity to connect with your students. Explain to them why you're asking them to complete the poll and let them know that their school cares about their wellbeing. Reassure your students that you are listening to their feedback and that the results will be studied carefully and acted upon. Once you have a good idea of how engaged your students are, you can start to create activities and programs to increase their engagement."
Tom McHale

Homework vs. No Homework Is the Wrong Question | Edutopia - 0 views

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    "The real question we should be asking is, "What do we believe should happen after the end of the school day to help ensure that students retain what they have learned and are primed to learn more?" Any answer with the word, "work" in its name, as in "homework," is not typically going to be met with eagerness or enthusiasm by students. Ideally, we want children to understand that they are always learners. In school, we refer to them as "students" but outside of school, as children, they are still learners. So it makes no sense to even advertise a "no homework" policy in a school. It sends the wrong message. The policy should be, "No time-wasting, rote, repetitive tasks will be assigned that lack clear instructional or learning purposes.""
Tom McHale

Watch What You Tweet: Schools, Censorship, and Social Media - 0 views

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    "How lawmakers and school officials police social media can have serious implications for youth free expression. We have seen students punished for online speech that was discovered by faculty, reported by other students or with the aid of surveillance companies like SnapTrends, CompuGuardian, Gaggle, and Social Sentinel Inc. Punishment for speech often comes under the veneer of keeping schools "safe," whether from physical violence or emotional distress. But how far can that authority legally extend? When do schools go too far in policing student speech online? As we'll explain, the lines are not as clear as one might think."
Brendan McIsaac

Teacher Evaluation Systems Not Fully Supported In Many States: Center For American Prog... - 0 views

  • Most state reform statues have established hasty timetables for the implementation of new teacher-evaluation systems — timetables all states are struggling to meet. HPAds.adSonar(1523709,2259768,300,250); adsonar_placementId=1523709;adsonar_pid=2259768;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=300;adsonar_zh=250;adsonar_jv="ads.tw.adsonar.com";Still, arguably the biggest challenge posed by these mandated evaluation reforms is that the majority of teachers do not teach in tested subjects or grades, and as a result standardized student achievement data is not available to be used in their ratings.
  • Furthermore, states must concentrate on providing what districts cannot, and education agencies should adjust their implementation timelines to align with the needs and resources of their particular state. Lastly, states must think long term about how to provide administrators with the training, technical expertise and field experience needed to address the current human-capital challenges affiliated with teacher evaluation reform. Loading Slideshow School Supplies<strong>91 percent</strong> of teachers buy basic school supplies for their students.Food<strong>2 in 3</strong> teachers <strong>(67%)</strong> purchase food or snacks to satisfy the basic nutritional needs of their students -- even ones who are already enrolled in their schools' free or reduced-price meal program. Clothing<strong>1 in 3</strong> teachers purchase clothing for children, including jackets, hats and gloves <strong>(30%)</strong> or shoes and shoe laces <strong>(15%)</strong>.Toothbrushes<strong>18 percent</strong> of teachers purchase personal care items, such as toothbrushes and sanitary products.Hygiene ProductsNearly <strong>1 in 3</strong> teachers <strong>(29%)</strong> purchase items such as toilet paper and soap that their school cannot provide enough of due to budget cuts. Field Trips<strong>More than half</strong> of all teachers have paid the costs of field trips for students who couldn't afford to participate otherwise.Alarm Clocks<strong>Several teachers</strong> reported purchasing alarm clocks for students. Due to work schedules or family circumstances, guardians were unable to wake their children for school, which led to absences and academic underperformance. Teacher Spending On Students1 of 8 Hide ThumbnailsAlamyNext Share TweetFullscreen1 of 8Play AllSchool Supplies91 percent of teachers buy basic school supplies for their students. Like Dislike8 Points10 likes, 2 dislikesAdvertisement× #hp-slideshow-wrapper-246322 .hp-slideshow-wrapper-loading-div{ font-family:Arial
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    This is the struggle I was outlining the other day
Tom McHale

Poetry 180: A Poem a Day for American High Schools, a Project from Poet Laureate Billy ... - 0 views

shared by Tom McHale on 05 Sep 16 - No Cached
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    "Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year. Michael Collins selected these poems with high school students in mind. They are intended to be listened to, and he suggests that all members of the school community be included as readers. A great time for the readings would be following the end of daily announcements over the public address system.
Tom McHale

Digital Is - 0 views

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    "How can we honor this process and make school writing about discovery? Instead of leading students to feel that school writing must be separate from their lived realities, how can writing allow students to find meaning through a process of creating? At Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, where I teach, we adopted common language to help us unify our writing instruction. Throughout the four years of high school, we emphasize thesis statements and the crafting of arguments. While I believe there is much value to this approach, I've also come to believe that we should do more to help young people develop their writing craft."
Tom McHale

When Reading Gets Harder | Harvard Graduate School of Education - 1 views

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    "For years, we've thought that the answer to boosting adolescent reading comprehension lay in building students' vocabulary. Teens often struggle with the jargon and advanced terminology they encounter as they move into middle and high school, so educators have designed curricula and interventions that explicitly teach these complex words. But these strategies aren't always fully effective, according to literacy researcher Paola Uccelli. As she writes, many of these interventions have yielded "significant growth in vocabulary knowledge yet only modest gains in reading comprehension." Too many teens still struggle to understand assigned texts. Uccelli's research explores a new approach. By focusing on how words connect in academic texts - and by recognizing that this connecting language is a possible source of difficulty for adolescent readers - teachers may be better able to equip middle and high school students with the tools to comprehend the texts they're reading for higher-order learning. Her work identifies a set of language features that are common in academic text but rare in informal spoken language. She's found that many of the most common language features of middle school texts are unknown to large proportions of students, even by eighth grade. "
Tom McHale

Five Reasons Why We Need Poetry in Schools | Edutopia - 0 views

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    "Poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience. It can cross boundaries that little else can. April is National Poetry Month. Bring some poetry into your hearts, homes, classrooms and schools. Here are five reasons why we need poetry in our schools."
Tom McHale

Pearson's Quest to Cover the Planet in Company-Run Schools | WIRED - 0 views

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    "Pearson would like to become education's first major conglomerate, serving as the largest private provider of standardized tests, software, materials, and now the schools themselves. To this end, the company is testing academic, financial, and technological models for fully privatized education on the world's poor. It's pursuing this strategy through a venture called the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund. Pearson allocated the fund an initial $15 million in 2012 and another $50 million in January 2015. Students in developing countries vastly outnumber those in wealthy nations, constituting a larger market for the company than students in the West. Here in the US, Pearson pursues its privatization agenda through charter schools that are run for profit but funded by taxpayers. It's hard to imagine the company won't apply what it learns from its global experiments as it continues to expand its offerings stateside.
Tom McHale

From Eighth to Ninth Grade: Programs That Support a Critical Transition | MindShift | K... - 0 views

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    "The move from middle to high school is proving to be a critical transition, one in which students must deal with great changes in academics, responsibility and social structure all at the same time. Recent research showing a strong correlation between failing classes in ninth grade and not graduating puts an even stronger emphasis on making sure the eighth-to-ninth-grade transition goes smoothly - and puts added pressure on the 14-year-olds making their way from a more nurturing environment to the "Wild, Wild West." Formal structures for helping students transition smoothly appear to be relatively uncommon, leaving the work to already overburdened counselors and families, or sometimes no one but the students themselves. Yet two particular standout programs - one in Boston, one in St. Paul, Minnesota - are trying to help connect the dots for freshmen, and may serve as a model for other schools and systems to create a strong bridge over the rough waters from middle to high school."
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