A college professor we know tells us, “Sometimes I think that nothing I can do will generate the slightest amount of enthusiasm from my lecture classes . . . If I stood on the lab table in the front of the room, lit the Bunsen Burner and waved it around over my head, I don’t think even that would do the trick.” Read more
A growing number of parents have now been convicted and sentenced in the U.S. college cheating scandal. But does that mean that all the cheaters have been caught, all the scams have been uncovered, and the problem is on its way to being solved?
It would be both illogical and incorrect to think so. So many varieties of small-level cheating take place every day, everywhere, in situations like these: Read more
As soon as the 2019-20 school year began, a high school English teacher was very impressed with the maturity exhibited by one of the female students in her class. The student was poised, comfortable in her interactions with other students, and articulate. But when the student turned in her first paper, the teacher was surprised because the student didn’t write or structure her paper well. How could that be, when she seemed so mature? Read more
Sometimes parents ask teachers to stretch ethical boundaries in ways that seem “small,” like this . . .
“My daughter has never gotten a B on a science test, and you just gave her one,” a mother told a teacher during a tense phone call. “I want you to let her retake the exam, but first I want you to go over the questions she got wrong.”
And sometimes parents make demands that are clearly unethical, like this . . .
“You gave my son a C in physics last term,” a father told a high school teacher. “How did that compare to the median grade you gave to all the students in the class? I want you to increase it to a B.” Read more
If you’re a teacher, do you know what is going on in the minds of your students? What motivates them to learn? As you know, some students are extremely motivated to learn, while others are only concerned with earning a passing grade. What is going on? Read more
As a high school teacher, you are devoting time and energy to your professional development. But are you also striving to become a more creative teacher?
We recently found a new post, “101 Ways for Teachers to Be More Creative” that was published on July 31, 2019 on the TeachThought blog. This post really does offer 101 suggestions for how teachers can become more creative. Read more
The 2019 State of Computer Science Education, a nationwide study conducted by the Advocacy Coalition, the Computer Science Teachers Association and the Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance, found that two conflicting trends are at work in computer science as it is taught in American high schools. Read more
A high school teacher recently told a group of fellow educators, “Some of my students are much more aware of what is going on in the world than other students are. I’ve been assuming the best-informed students are those who have better access to the Internet at home, but is that really the case?” Read more
It’s only natural for high school teachers to feel a special affection for former students, and to feel a sense of loss when they leave for college.
As educator Jill Eulberg writes on the Hey Teach blog:
“Spending as much time as we do together, our classes can bond like families, and students can start to feel like our own kids. But when it comes time for them to move on to the next grade, the next school, or the next step in their lives, it can be hard to know the best way to stay in touch with students.” Read more
Mrs. Henry is a 9-12 English teacher at South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, Texas. She had an unusual opportunity. Many of her students were planning to become educators after college, but they didn’t want to wait to start helping younger students read. So they approached Mrs. Henry and asked her to help them create a classroom Reading Center where they could help elementary school students improve their reading skills. They felt that the need for a Reading Center was especially acute in Grand Prairie, a community where more than half of all students come from low-income households. Read more