Five Great Questions For "Evidence-Based" Programs
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At EdWeek, Larry Ferlazzo ran a guest post by Rene Grimes that focused on
the "science of math" and the programs that are supposed to be based on it.
Bet...
Cognitive Resonance: Why is Claude for Teachers?
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Cognitive Resonance: Why is Claude for Teachers?
*Anthropic bumbles its way into education*
[image: Why?]
Everything about AI right now is weird.
I took...
SCHOOL FUNDING IS NO FUN — BUT IS IT FAIR?
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*SCHOOL FUNDING IS NO FUN — BUT IS IT FAIR?**How "Reform" Became a Polite
Word for Pulling the Rug Out From Under Public Education*
Welcome to the gre...
The REPULSICANS
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Admit it: The DUMBOCRATS is a fitting and appropriate moniker for one of
the two mainstream capitalist political parties in the US—one of the
greatest war-...
Celebrating our power this Labor Day
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Every Labor Day, I stop to reflect on the history of our union and what
lessons we can apply to continue to build a movement that meets the
aspirations of ...
That Feeling of Understanding
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Years ago, a friend involved in the business of "up cycling" wound up with
a collection of junk with which even he couldn't figure out what to do, so
he...
He Is Truly "Unhinged"
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Since yesterday, Donald J. Trump has been posting on social media at a
frantic pace, showing AI images of himself with President George Washington
on ...
Labor Day. Happy Birthday to Me.
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So—I just had a birthday. A big, round-number birthday. All my life, my
birthday has taken place in and around Labor Day weekend, and—fairly
often—happened...
To the Holiday Workers on Standby
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I was fortunate enough to have Labor Day off. It was for me a relaxing day.
I spent most of it quietly at home, doing nothing particularly taxing,
which I ...
Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL
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Ten years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and
resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general
that ...
Educators Resist
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View this email in your browser
[image: Logo]
*TL;DR*
*What We’ve Done*
Understanding that voting in November in numbers that cannot be ignored is
...
Day 1 for the New Congress
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If Dems don't do this, they will have failed us entirely.
[image or embed]
— unpersoned.bsky.social (@unpersoned.bsky.social) September 5, 2026 at
5:5...
Why Does Teacher Pay Matter?
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A recent story on America’s growing teacher shortage indicates a real
problem – nearly half a million teaching positions unfilled or filled with
temporary ...
SPI Celebrates 1 Million CalKIDS Accounts
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California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond
celebrates 1 million CalKIDS accounts, highlights financial literacy in
Monterey County.
DOE presentation on their AI guidance
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The following slides were presented to the AI Moratorium Coalition steering
commitee on Sept. 1, 2026. The last slide has bullet points made up of
response...
The Light She Left Behind
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“Those we love don’t go away, they sit beside us every day.” — Liane
Moriarty, Big Little Lies Forgive us if we are a little sad here in
Tennessee. We lost...
The Great and Irreplaceable Dolly Parton
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If the state of the world has you down, here’s a reprieve, two interviews
with the great Dolly Parton. The first is my extended interview with her,
13 yea...
Who Wants a Raise?
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Everyone. And if you are a UFTer (and not a retiree), you are getting one.
But get this. A new paraprofessional is getting a raise of $803/year. Man,
do th...
SQ 844: How is this better?
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In plain terms, the new language gives the Legislature the authority to
establish both the amount and methodology for distributing ad valorem
reimbursement...
Time to change our Nation’s Diaper
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It’s time to change our nation’s diaper. Our national identity now reeks
due to our inability to clean out the mess caused by the Orange Turd.
Corruption i...
May’s Parent Engagement Resources
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San Diego Unified Created a System to ‘Empower’ Parents. It Unraveled is
from The Voice of San Diego. Why Those Disengaged Parents in Your School
Deserve a...
Reflections on America, the world, and life
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I acknowledge that I rarely post here anymore. Folks should remember that I
am approaching my 80th birthday in less than 9 weeks, I am still teaching
ful...
Il Papa è Morto
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Francis brought a distinct pastoral outlook to his papacy. A simple man, he
lived in a small apartment in the guesthouse. He sought to make the church
acce...
Whose Opinions Matter in Education World?
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It's hard to identify education heroes and sheroes. And perhaps even harder
to pinpoint just whose work is slanted, paid-for and dishonest.
I am Retiring
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I have some news: I am retiring from the PBS NewsHour and Learning Matters.
[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other
conte...
geralt / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST RESOURCES ON TEENS DEMANDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE : School strike for climate: Protests staged around the world is from The BBC.
Editor’s Note: I recently invited readers to contribute short posts about their experiences teaching adult English Language Learners. Many have responded – and there’s room for more! The first post was by Antoinette Perez. The second one was by Leighton Suen . Today’s post is by Coral Russell. Coral Russell has a Master’s in TESOL and has been teaching ELLs in the US, Korea, China, and Venezuela
geralt / Pixabay I’ve just mailed out the June issue of my very simple free monthly email newsletter . It has over 3,000 subscribers, and you can subscribe here . Of course, you can also join the eighteen thousand others who subscribe to this blog daily. Here Are 8 Ways You Can Subscribe For Free…
Here’s my regular round-up of new “The Best…” lists I posted this month (you can see all 2,040 of them categorized here ): THE BEST IDEAS ON PEER REVIEW OF STUDENT WRITING UPDATED & REVISED: THE BEST ESL/EFL BLOGS – SHARE YOUR FAVORITES!
I regularly highlight my picks for the most useful posts for each month — not including “The Best…” lists. I also use some of them in a more extensive monthly newsletter I send-out. You can see older Best Posts of the Month at Websites Of The Month (more recent lists can be found here ). You can also see my all-time favorites here . I’ve also been doing “A Look Back” series reviewing old favorite
Claudia14 / Pixabay The United Nations has declared June 8th to be World Oceans Day . You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Oceans .
As regular readers know, at the end of each week I share the five most popular posts from the previous seven days. I thought people might find it interesting to see a list of the ten most popular posts from the previous thirty days. You might also be interested in IT’S THE TWELFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THIS BLOG – HERE ARE THE FORTY ALL-TIME MOST POPULAR POSTS. Not to mention THE TWENTY MOST POPULAR POS
GDJ / Pixabay The United Nations has declared June 20th to be World Refugee Day . You might be interested in The Best Sites For Learning About World Refugee Day .
PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay This is an intriguing video that shows a streetscape image taken every year since the beginning of photography. It’s long, but I’m thinking that even just showing a portion of it could be a useful exercise with English Language Learners to have them identify common and unique characteristics….
There’s been a lot of interest in the role curiosity plays in learning (see The Best Posts On Curiosity ). A new study has come out suggesting that a particular type of curiosity is the most motivating for learning. The research (see What we think we know — but might not — pushes us to learn more ) suggests that the key is creating situations where students think they know something and then disc
The most recent book that Katie Hull and I wrote, The ELL Teacher’s Toolbox (click on its book cover at the bottom of this post for more info), has become very popular. In fact, it became so popular and useful to teachers immediately after its publication last year that we proposed to Jossey-Bass that it be used as a template for a series of books in each academic subject area to help teachers of
AmnaS / Pixabay How animals view the world is a new tool from LensBest that lets you see how various animals see the world, and explains why that’s the case. You can choose the experience of a dog, cat, snail or bee. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Walking In Someone Else’s Shoes .
Every year I share the annual Condition of Education report from The National Center For Education Statistics. They’re always about two-and-a-half years behind the present-day, but it also always presents the most accurate date about ed that you’re going to find anyway. They have just released The Condition of Education 2019. Here are some charts and graphs related to English Language Learners th
ElisaRiva / Pixabay Here’s a new video from NPR that’s pretty mind-blowing. I’m adding it to The Best “Mind-Blowing” Videos About Technology That I’ve Seen — Help Me Find More .
What Are the Best Ways to Handle Group Work in Class? is the new question-of-the-week at my Education Week Teacher column. Feel free to leave responses in the comments sections there or here….
Wokandapix / Pixabay Though the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote, was actually added to the Constitution until 1920, this week marks the 100th anniversary of the House of Representatives passing it . You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Women’s Suffrage . On this day in 1919, the US House approved the 19th amendment – giving women the right to vote.
greymatters / Pixabay It’s graduation time, which means it’s also time for commencement speeches. Obviously, this year the one that is getting the most attention is Robert F. Smith’s one at Morehouse . You might be interested in checking out The Best Commencement Speeches .
I’m making a change in the content of the regular feature. In addition to sharing the top five posts that have received the most “hits” in the preceding seven days (though they may have originally been published on an earlier date), I will also include the top five posts that have actually appeared in the past week. Often, these are different posts. You might also be interested in IT’S THE TWELFT
PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay The new TED-Ed video is an intriguing one. It’s designed to show how the media can incorrectly report the findings of medical research. It explains three scientific studies – one at a time – and then shows a headline from a news story about it. You’re supposed to then pause the video and figure out why the headline is incorrect based on your understanding of the res
truthseeker08 / Pixabay The United Nations has declared today to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development . You might be interested in: The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures The Best Resources About “Culturally Responsive Teaching” & “Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy” – Please Share More! The Best Posts On The Value Of Ethnic Studies Classes –
A ‘Trauma-Informed Classroom Is a Safe and Secure Place’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. In it, Rita Platt, guest-host for this series on trauma-informed teaching, continues the conversation with her own response, along with contibutions from Beth Parson Stauner, Robert Ward, Amber Chandler and Kelly Knoche. Here are some excerpts: I’m adding it to The Best Ways For Re
BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELLs In 2018 – So Far and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2018 – PART TWO . A
I’ve recently begun this weekly post where I’ll be sharing resources I’m adding to The Best Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Resources or other related “Best” lists. You might also be interested in The Best Social Emotional Learning Resources Of 2018 – So Far. Finally, check out “Best” Lists Of The Week: Social Emotional Learning Resources . Here are this week’s picks: Nurturing a Culture of Growt
The United Nations has declared May 31st to be World No Tobacco Day . You might be interested in The Best Sites For ELL’s To Learn About The Dangers Of Smoking .
I’ve previously shared many resources related to simulations (see The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories and The Best Online Learning Simulation Games & Interactives — Help Me Find More) , as well as critiques of some (see THE DANGERS OF “CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE” GENRE FOR REAL & PAINFUL STORIES , A Marine’s Reaction to a Children’s Book Prompts an Apology From the
Strategies for ‘Trauma-Informed Teaching’ is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Rita Platt guest-hosts this post on trauma-informed teaching with contributions from Dr. Christy Wolfe,Jason Harelson, Chris Weber, and Jenny Grant Rankin, Ph.D. Here are some excerpts:
Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES ON CLASS INSTRUCTION IN 2018 – PART TWO. Here are this week’s picks: Fighting Words: Poetry in Response to Current Events [Contest and Workshop] is an intriguing use of poetry from The Pulitzer Center.
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay A simple definition of interleaving is strategically alternating studying/teaching different skills, as opposed to “blocking,” which is focusing on one skill at a time. Scientific American has an accessible article about it titled The Interleaving Effect: Mixing It Up Boosts Learning . A new study just came out claiming HUGE benefits to using it in math class, and I’
WikiImages / Pixabay Malcolm X would have been 94 years-old today. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning & Teaching About Malcolm X . Brother Malcolm would have been 94 years-old today. We remember him, his legacy and his family. #MalcolmX pic.twitter.com/MILW8GNEsM — The King Center (@TheKingCenter) May 19, 2019 Happy Birthday to el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, better known as Mal
Editor’s Note: I recently invited readers to contribute short posts about their experiences teaching adult English Language Learners. Many have responded – and there’s room for more! The first post was by Antoinette Perez. Today’s post is by Leighton Suen. Leighton Suen is finishing his 3rd year as a dual-licensed ENL/ELA teacher at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Brooklyn, NY. He has taught
OpenClipart-Vectors / Pixabay “No Te Calles” is a new song from the group Making Movies and Ruben Blades encouraging people, particularly Latinos, to fight against injustice. In addition, they’ve created a website where anyone can sing a verse about an injustice and post it on the site in video/audio or just audio form. Yes, I know this could potentially be tricky politically for some teachers, b
Author Interview: Enhancing the ‘Mental Bandwidth’ of Students is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. It’s Part Two of an interview with Cia Verschelden about her book, “Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism and Social Marginalization.” Here are some excerpts: I’m adding it to The Best Resources Showing Social Emotional Learn
BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. You might also be interested in The Best Resources, Articles & Blog Posts For Teachers Of ELLs In 2018 – So Far and THE BEST RESOURCES, ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS FOR TEACHERS OF ELLS IN 2018 – PART TWO . A
Author Interview: ‘Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources’ Lost to Poverty and Racism is the headline of my latest column in Education Week Teacher. In it, Cia Verschelden agreed to answer a few questions about her
