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Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your Practice
Recently I was having a discussion with a colleague who is new to the building. This teacher is confident, self-assured, and has decades of experience more than me. We teach the same children, so we meet frequently for RTI and team meetings. This is the type of teacher that takes pride in being "old school," which roughly translates to a no-nonsense, quiet-equals-learning, behavior-shou
Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your Practice
Recently I was having a discussion with a colleague who is new to the building. This teacher is confident, self-assured, and has decades of experience more than me. We teach the same children, so we meet frequently for RTI and team meetings. This is the type of teacher that takes pride in being "old school," which roughly translates to a no-nonsense, quiet-equals-learning, behavior-shoul
MAY 01
Education Innovation: Teaching Tomorrow’s Learners
Post written by Mikaela Dwyer, a journalism student at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. She considers herself a human rights activist and spends her time volunteering on campus and with various local nonprofits. After graduation, Dwyer hopes to join the Peace Corps and then become an investigative journalist for human rights issues. Brian K. Perkins, director of the Urban Education
The Educator’s Essentials
In this era of school reform, turnaround, and educational change, it is easy to overlook the basics of why we educate and what we want for our children. Usually when we talk about "getting back to the basics," the conversation is student-focused, if not always student-centered. These basics of learning vary from the 3 Rs (reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic) to STEM to 21st century skills.
APR 30
Be a Part of the Global Conversation
The 2013 Whole Child Virtual Conference reached educators across the globe. Building on its success, the 2014 Whole Child Symposium is another great opportunity for you to interact with leading education thinkers. Join ASCD for two free events in May: the Whole Child Symposium Live and the Whole Child Symposium Virtual, a series of discussions about effective education and education systems aroun
Food for Thought: What the SNAP Cuts Mean for Students and Schools
Research shows that students with access to good nutrition have higher school attendance records, are better able to focus, and are consistently more engaged than students with poor nutrition. Even so, Congress approved and President Obama signed a farm bill reauthorization that cuts funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps. ASCD's most rec
APR 29
Russell Quaglia: From Dreaming to Doing
Post written by Laura Varlas How would you rate your ability to put your dreams into practice? How would you rate your students? Aspirations—having goals and being inspired in the present to pursue them—challenge us to match our dreams with actions, explained Russell Quaglia at his lively 2014 ASCD Annual Conference general session. But for many students, he added, aspirations get lost in the limb
Back to Basics: From Quick Fixes to Sustainable Change
School improvement conversations usually focus on quick fixes, those strategies thought to make immediate improvements to student achievement. While this model may work well for some, kids (and their teachers) remain unconvinced because their needs were never really considered to begin with—just their test scores. Even so, schools are encouraged to implement these overly simplistic strategies in s
ED Pulse Poll Results: Which “Future of Schooling” Prediction Is Coming True?
Post written by Kit Harris, ASCD Research ASCD continually seeks to provide solutions to the challenges that face educators of all levels. A recent ASCD SmartBrief ED Pulse poll sought to explore which of the predictions of a 2001 OECD report its readers felt were actually emerging. More than a decade ago, a report (PDF) on the future of schooling by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
APR 28
Improving Schools: Back to Basics—Struggling with Semantics
"Back to the basics." It's a phrase that's tossed around much but has varying definitions depending on the speaker and audience. For some, "back to the basics" means focusing on the 3 Rs—reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic—before (and sometimes instead of) anything else. We have to get back to basics in education, like ensuring that our children are developing the reading and w
APR 25
Growing Our Middle Grades Educational “Gardens”
After a long winter season with continual blankets of snow and ice sleeping on the ground, the warmth of spring is finally waking up the soil. Seas of grass are rising in front yards and eager blooms are curling upward toward the sun. Like careful, measured areas of hope, fresh garden plots are starting to appear in back yards. These gardens—and the work that goes along with them—mirror what sho
APR 24
International Panel Provides World View on Education
Post written by Laura Varlas At the recent ASCD Annual Conference in Los Angeles, Calif., ASCD Executive Director and CEO Dr. Gene R. Carter convened an international panel of education leaders from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada. Although their contexts differ, they share many of the same challenges as U.S. educators, and their global perspective provided a new lens for considering common theme
The Power of Community Partnerships
I must begin this post by stating one fact; I am so very appreciative and do not take for granted the number of hours spent in Washington Montessori School on a daily basis by our volunteers and community partners. We partner with local businesses, agencies, city offices, and so many others. Some of our partners help provide food for our back-feeding program for the weekend (where students discree
APR 23
ASCD’s Whole Child Symposium Tackles Questions About the Future of Education
What do we need from education? How are we preparing students for the world they will enter? This spring, ASCD is launching its inaugural Whole Child Symposium, a series of discussions to tackle these important questions. Through a town hall discussion, a live event, and a series of virtual panels, the symposium aims to push and expand conversations about effective education and education system
ASCD’s Whole Child Symposium Tackles Questions About the Future of Education
What do we need from education? How are we preparing students for the world they will enter? This spring, ASCD is launching its inaugural Whole Child Symposium, a series of discussions to tackle these important questions. Through a town hall discussion, a live event, and a series of virtual panels, the symposium aims to push and expand conversations about effective education and education system