As many American schools plan to resume classes soon, teachers are trying to decide whether or not to return to classrooms. That implies that there are only two groups of teachers regarding this issue – those who will go back, and those who will not. But in reality, a number of factors are at play as American schools reorganize in new ways. Read more
When I was going to high school, there was a special dining room reserved for teachers. It was in a corner of our cafeteria and I remember seeing teachers heading back there carrying brown lunch bags and cafeteria trays. I have no idea what they talked about behind closed doors, but I assume they were happy to be away from students like me and my friends, at least for the duration of a lunch period.
Today, teachers’ lounges can be found in many schools. They, like that dining room I remember, are places where teachers can connect to each other, discuss current challenges and ideas, and enjoy being part of a teachers’ community. Read more
Even though the Trump Administration is exerting pressure on American school systems to reopen this fall, new polls have found that neither parents nor teachers are eager to return to classrooms. Read more
The National PTA Is Ready to Help You Thank Your Teachers During Teacher Appreciation Week
“It’s in these challenging times that we truly recognize and appreciate how our nation’s educators play such a pivotal role in our children’s lives—inspiring a lifelong love of learning and discovery and making a difference in their well-being and long-term success.” Read more
The Student Research Foundation (SRF) surveyed high school teachers nationwide about their satisfaction on 14 job-related factors. (See infographic below.) 2,385 responded during Fall 2018. The data, collected pre-Covid, provide insights into teachers’ willingness to rally after schools closed and possible impacts of any Covid-induced budget cuts on learning environments. Read more
Research Findings . . .
If you are a teacher, you know how exciting it is to hear one of your students say, “I want to become a teacher someday.”
Those words tell you that a lot of things have gone right with that student’s education. He or she finds learning exciting, believes in the classroom experience, wants to give something back to the world by teaching young people . . . and also admires you and the work you are doing.
Those are all great messages to be getting from a student you have influenced.
Most teachers give only written notes to students about the work and projects they have turned in. Written feedback is certainly better than no feedback at all. But according to “How to Give Your Students Feedback with Technology,” an article that instructional designers Holly Fiock and Heather Garcia published recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education, giving feedback in video, audio and other formats can be far more effective than giving written comments alone. Read more
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
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