Teachers' Expectations Can Predict How Students Perform

Take eight minutes to listen to this important NPR piece, "Teachers' Expectations Can Predict How Students Perform," to get some research and insights on how teachers and parents have to monitor what and how teachers speak to students. 

Moving Lessons Along via 20 X 20?

A different approach to PowerPoint presentations. With a Pecha Kucha (Japanese for "chatter") you watch 20 slides with 20 seconds for each slide — non-stop. 

Click here for a great example of a Pecha Kucha from my friend Dan Pink.

Portrait of a Graduate

How nice it is to hear from the graduates of our school. "Portrait of a Graduate" is a video we recently made, featuring some of them. Click over to see this 6-minute gem.

Two excellent poems from two middle school students

Office Buildings

The towering giants of corporate companies,

watching the tiny ants mill around the busy city

streets where you can smell the greasy soft

pretzels that the tourists buy. The businessmen

walk by swiftly, already late for their job in the giant

building, in a cubicle, sitting next to people they don’t

know and will never try to find out because all they

want to do is do their job like robots, not noticing,

suffocating under the heavy suit and tie.

But then they come home to their families,

and they are normal people

not ants, not robots

just people.

Tiger

Caged Tiger

Pacing back and forth,

Waiting for the food that I didn’t kill,

Ready to eat.

The fence has sparks that I can’t touch.

I can hear it humming.

People are making noise while I’m trying to sleep.

My eyes hurt from the blinking lights.

I can smell prey around me but I can’t hunt it.

My stomach is full but I feel empty.

LOL

What the heck does it mean?

If you teach or have a tween-something and you imbibe in IMing aka texting, you must listen to this 10-minute message from Adam Gopnik's March 12, 2013 LOL bit.

I promise you, you will love it laughing.

If You Have a Toddler, Read This

Much like my essay "Rethinking the 'F' Word," Montessori Learning in the 21st Century does such a good job about helping parents understand failure.

The author says, "Parents need to develop an attitude of 'friendliness with error.' This means allowing your child the opportunity to learn through natural, spontaneous 'errors' or 'mistakes.' Messes are a part of learning. Don't be afraid of them!"