Lessons Learned The Hard Way

The Problem With Discipline

From the beginning of my career, I had a real problem with classroom control. I was afraid of my older students. It took my almost my entire career until I realized that the secret of control was not to make everything a power struggle between the student and myself but to learn to understand the world through the eyes of the students I was having difficulties with and were having their own difficulties with the school environment. The secret to finding success with students, most of the time, is thinking of them as individuals and seeing them that way and responding to them that way. So much of what we do is related to emotional learning and with that comes the ability to help students get along.

Robograding?

I read the outline of an article on the idea of robograding which means using machine programmed intelligence to grade papers. It explained what robograding meant to imply and then it talked about why it is so far away from being realized. I remember when early adoption of computers in the classroom led to some believing they would eliminate teachers and I retorted that there would always be a need for teachers. Same thing applies with this concept. We can program machines to mark simple examples where there is no thinking involved, only choices. But as soon as thinking which means emotions become involved, it is much harder to do in the best interests of the students. Only a good teacher can see into the mind and thinking of a student and it is in that in between place where sometimes we have to assess fairly what a student is trying to say and show.

Global Education & Collaborative web-Enabled Projects

One of the most important developments that came along with the creation of the World Wide Web and its successor, the Internet, was the ability to reach a global audience. In those early days that was done through email and listserves and then came first web pages / web sites and social media. Now it is easy for a parent or a teacher or a student of any age to make contact with individuals and groups of almost any variety. We are witnessing the bad side of this in so many ways, but the good side is what I am focussing on. These developments have enabled us to help one another learn about the world around us and the peoples who inhabit our planet. There is a world out there waiting for our students to find in a positive way and we can accomplish that so easily but helping them find global collaborative projects and opportunities for them to chat and interact with others like them in classrooms and schools all over the world.

The Science of Teaching and Learning and Applying That To Lesson Planning

There is never an end to the positions that are being taken in various states and provinces concerning Education and far too often they are coming from a place of a lack of understanding about what we teach, how we teach and why we teach as well as how students learn and why they learn or don't learn. The latest headline is about teachers having to file their lesson plans a whole year ahead of their work so there will be an opportunity for parents to see and comment and criticize. In this podcast, I try to outline how we are now going back to where we were before I even began to teach and how that runs contrary to everything we now to be the case about success in teaching and learning. There are roles parents can play in this adventure we call school but it is not to be able to criticize and comment on lessons on a day to day basis.

Looking at the Factors Leading to So Much Teacher Burnout

Hearing folks from every walk of life attest to the fact that they are DONE with the pandemic, or demonstrate to end all the restrictions on personal freedom, it is easy to overlook a group of people who have more than enough reasons to want the pandemic to end. Teacher by definition spend their professional careers in a very high-stress environment, under assault from all directions to demand quality as well as quantity of educational experiences. However, it is well known that teachers don't last long in their classrooms. Five years is more than enough for most of them. Why is this so and what can we do to make things easier for them?

Career Education Then & Now

When we read the headlines in papers and follow the news carefully in the press or social media, we know that one of the biggest problems facing society as we emerge from the pandemic is that of jobs and where all these people who want to find better jobs are going to end up. So many young people begin their working lives though having absolutely no idea what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Career Education is a responsibility that has only become more important over time. It is not something that we set aside a period or two for in a timetable. It happens every time we get a chance to explore the world of work with out students, examine their skill sets, help them develop them and all the time think about what they would enjoy doing as they grow up. Then they can set their sights on that goal.

Regaining Learning Ground Lost During the Pandemic

Without a doubt, one of the single biggest issues facing governments and the world of education is how to see to it that schools return to some sense of normalcy as soon as and as quickly as possible. One thing is for sure though. It will be a long time before that really happens and we cannot assume we can just go back to the old way of doing things. Learning has to change. In this podcast I explore how continuous learning, individualized instruction, and active assessment of the subjective kind will go a long way to helping students overcome not only their major learning deficits but the issues of mental health and stability plaguing so many of them.

Reimagining School After the Pandemic and the Role of Technology

When the computer first appeared on desks in classrooms, there were those who knew instinctively that they would not make any fundamental difference in Education over-all until the form and function of the classroom changed to reflect the integration of technology. This did not happen at all, but as a result of the instability caused by the pandemic and teachers being forced to think outside of the box and use online learning, the door has even opened to fundamental transformations soon to be seen in schools around the world. Technology will play a huge role in these changes.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Was On To Something

I thought about entitling this podcast episode It's All About Invitational Learning but thought the current title was more interesting. It does, however, get at a very important point. In an earlier age, students were told what to do and they were expected to follow instructions. Learning didn't always occur but what did occur was due to the internal motivation of the students and their innate abilities. Today, our schools are comprised of a very heterogenous body of students and not all of them are motivated to learn. But they need to learn if they are going to survive and thrive in the modern world. We need to learn how to invite our students to undertake a learning journey and to sustain that journey through all their years of school. Any one teacher can send negative vibes that will turn a student off of learning. It is all about being invitational all the time.

How To Handle Problems When They Arise

There is no handbook that any educator can consult that will itemize all the problems that could arise when using technology.  If in the classroom, the best policy is to be walking around amongst the students and dialoguing with each and every one of them or each and every group so that you know what they are and are not doing.  However, problems will always creep up and it is amazing how often my students have helped me solve the problems.  I was never afraid to ask my students for advice or assistance.  Not only does it provide them with a sense of agency in the classroom, but it cultivates a sense of belonging to a team rather than being in there on your own. When we talk about being a guide on the side, that works both ways, ie just as easily from student to teacher, as the other way around.