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!"

Great Perspective

Ben Wiseman NYTimes

Can someone render an opinion on child rearing if he doesn't have a child? Read "A Childless Bystander's Baffled Hymn" by Frank Bruni, NYTimes Sunday Review columnist.

He ends the piece by saying, "So parents:

• Cut yourselves some slack. 
• Take a deep breath. 
• No one false step or one missed call is going to consign your children to an entirely different future. 
• Make sure they know they're loved. 
• Make sure that they know their place. 
• And make peace with the fact that you don't hold all or even most of the cards."

For My Baseball Players & Fans

As we look to a brand new baseball (and softball) season, I love this video on how baseballs are made. It will fascinate players and fans of all ages.

Strength in Family

"The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative."

"The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned."

Both quotes above come from NYTimes article "The Stories That Bind Us" by Bruce Feiler author of the book The Secret of Happy Families: How to Improve Your Morning, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smart, Go Out and Play, and Much More.

Selling Education

Pink is at his best with his latest book. What makes it so relevant to education is that he presents sales of services, something we all do in our lives whether it is convincing a class through a lesson, or asking the boss for a raise, or helping a patient understand the need for a procedure. Particularly in the education and health services fields (Ed-Med) as opposed to the manufacturing sector, sales has changed dramatically from the 1950s when the Fuller Brush salesman peddled wares door to door. 

By looking at the history and reputation of selling, Pink explores sales analytically from his ABCs—Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity to going from caveat emptor to caveat venditor; to pecha kucha, a new way of presenting Power Point presentations; and to how to be a servant-leader. Like Drive, Pink’s previous book, To Sell is Human is a must read.

This recent article from Mind/Shift How we will learn, "Dan Pink: How Teachers Can Sell Love of Learning to Students," is right on.

Also, listen to this interview with Pink on NPR.

Interview With Dr. Ned Hallowell

Here is my recently published article in Montessori Life "It Really is All About the Child: An Interview with Dr. Edward Hallowell." The interview is about his thoughts on education in general, and it highlights his passion and advocacy for children with learning difficulties.

I am off to Orlando, Florida this week to hear him speak at the American Montessori Society Annual Conference.

Who Should Decide What Students Read?

Is this what students should hear about reading?

"Comic books are useless." 
"Classics are the only books with any value." 
"Don't read 'Mad Magazine.'" 
"For summer reading, only read non-fiction. "
"The book Gossip Girl? Absolutely not."

Who decides what students should read? Read this article I wrote for Education Week a while back to get one person's view on the subject.

"Who Should Decide What Students Read?"

Montessori & Digital Learning

As I was exploring TeachThought, an education blog, I discovered the post "The Similarities Between Montessori And Digital Learning." When you read it, you can explore further what is behind the points mentioned:

1. Individual Learning Progressions & Competency-Based Learning
2. Elimination of Age and Grade Restrictions
3. Formative Assessments & Short Feedback Loops
4. Non-traditional Teacher Roles
5. A Global Citizen Perspective

Read and Listen to What the Child is Saying

The word "listen" has the same letters as the word "silent." 

I have come to realize how important it is for us as parents and educators to listen to our children. The latest article I wrote for my Public School Montessorian column is "Read and Listen to What the Child is Saying." 

 Here is a brief excerpt from the article, which is a quote from Dr. Montessori, "The child's plea is 'Help me do it myself.'"

Landfill Harmonic

This is beautiful and inspirational.

Take Care of Yourself

I spent the past three days at an Experienced Teachers Institute with 45 of the best teachers talking about career sustainability, leadership, and caring for students, schools, and ourselves. I loved hearing one of my teaching colleagues (check out his blog 21apples) talk about Tony Schwartz, the CEO of The Energy Project and author of Be Excellent at Anything.

I wasn't surprised when I sat down this morning to read in the NYTimes  Schwartz's article "Relax! You'll Be More Productive" and reinforce how important it is for teachers—actually, everyone—to sleep well and pace oneself throughout the course of a school day. Do yourself a favor and read the article.

The Cost of Attendance

In Mark J. Mitchell’s excellent article an earlier issue of Independent School magazine, “Funding the Total Cost of Attendance,” eloquently describes the real cost of a non-public school education. Here is a direct quote from the article:

“Imagine this: You’re in the car dealership and you’re ready to buy. You've done your homework, you've talked to the salesperson, and you're ready to ink the deal. Then, when you are about to hand over your $25,000, you are told that it's another $500 for delivery and prep; another $1,500 for taxes, titles, and tags; $150 for those floor mats; and so on. Next thing you know, your $25,000 isn't going to cut it. Wouldn't you prefer to know the whole price up front? Not just, ‘How much does the car cost?’ but ‘How much am I going to pay for everything?’

Now imagine that the $25,000 is not for a car but for tuition — and that the $1,500 is for books and lab fees, $150 for joining a club, and so on. So, the $25,000 ‘tuition price,’ quickly can become a $27,500 (or more) ‘cost of attendance.’ While some may feel the “price,” is worth it, the true “cost” of a year may pose a different consideration of the value proposition.”