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A coworker of mine summed up perfectly the issue of classroom management in middle school: "If you treat them like babies, they will act like babies."  I believe the logic then dictates that if you treat them like adults, then they will become one of your greatest professional assets.

When my first born headed off to first grade, 21 years ago, she held my hand as we walked down the hallway of Will Rogers Elementary School in the Houston Independent School District. We walked into Ms. Miner's room and Meredith's steps grew more hesitant. This wasn't the University of Houston Child Care Center, the place she had gone for years while I was a doctoral student at UH. This place looked different - bigger, more official. There were big-kid desks pushed together in clusters. And though there were centers, they were not the dress-up center or the cooking center or nap center or water play center of the Child Care Center.

As I introduced a new geometry topic to my sixth grade class, one of my students immediately reacted to my mention of a new skill-classification of solid figures-by blurting out, "Again? We know everything about that. We learned it years ago."

I love TED talks and I always look forward for their new releases. You can learn as deep and profound insights from these talks as when reading a non-fiction book. I know we all have our time constraints that would not allow us to sit in front of an iPad or computer for 20 minutes watching a talk but there is always snatches of time to do it particularly in the weekends. Create a list of what to watch , as I do, and bookmark the talks that interest you and watch them later when you have time.

According to the most recent EU Kids Online research over one third of 9-12 year olds and three quarters of 13-16 year olds who use the internet in Europe have their own profile on a social networking site. I discovered this wonderful film from Julio Secchin which not only depicts the way that our youngsters use the web but also some of the wider implications.

People who continually change gears to do different tasks may find it reduces their concentration and self-control in other areas of their lives. Findings from a new study show that frequently switching your mind-set or focus uses a lot of self-control. This may leave you with less ability to control your temper, to resist cheating on your diet or to continue your exercise routine, says Ryan Hamilton, assistant professor of marketing at Emory University in Atlanta.

We have started something that we can not control.  Students are gradually assuming more responsibility and ownership for what they learn and how they learn it.  This is a good thing, but like splitting an atom inside of a cardboard box, there is no hope of containing its power and potential.  Yet, by and large, we stubbornly cling to a traditional school system, attempting to control student learning in the confines of a specific space, time and method.

While lecturing tends to be the easiest form of instruction, studies show that students absorb the least amount of information that way. Interactive teaching methods are an effective way to connect with a generation of students used to consistent stimulation-and education professor Kevin Yee has some advice for how teachers can make their lessons more interactive.

In the mid-nineteenth century, work began on a crucial section of the railway line connecting Boston to the Hudson River. The addition would run from Greenfield, Massachusetts, to Troy, New York, and it required tunnelling through Hoosac Mountain, a massive impediment, nearly five miles thick, that blocked passage between the Deerfield Valley and a tributary of the Hudson.

"Enhancing student engagement has been identified as the key to addressing problems of low achievement, high levels of student misbehavior, alienation, and high dropout rates." - Pitt professor Ming-Te Wang

American Psychological Association

Education professor-and maverick-Christopher Emdin is famous for incorporating hip-hop (and The GZA!) into science education. In this exclusive excerpt of his new book, "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education," he explains how White teachers at urban schools can overcome their class and race privilege and truly connect with their students. 

by Laurie Wasserman We have all had those kids in our classrooms who we love for their excitement and enthusiasm, but who drive all of us crazy with their constant chatting while their classmates try to get in a word or share an idea.

This channel showcases teachers using Modeling Instruction (and other reformed physics teaching methods) in their classrooms. Instead of relying on lectures and textbooks, Modeling Instruction emphasizes active student construction of conceptual and mathematical models in an interactive learning community. Students are engaged with simple scenarios to learn to model the physical world.

This week's "question of the week" is: "What does research say about use of ability groups/tracking, and how have you seen it used or misused? What are workable alternatives?"