For much of this year, the education community has gone back and forth on teacher quality and how we evaluate effective teaching. Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times (with an assist from Hechinger Report) pushed the topic further than most, offering a comprehensive Grading the Teachers effort that tracked individual teachers to their students' test scores. Without doubt, we will ...

h4. "Free Minds, Free People":http://www.freemindsfreepeople.org h4. A National Conference on Education for Liberation h4. June 25 to 28, 2009 h4. Houston, Texas Free Minds, Free People is a national conference that brings together teachers, high school and college students, researchers, parents and community-based activists/educators from across the country to build a movement to develop and promote Education for Liberation. Education for ...

Of all the celebrity deaths over the past few months, the one that hit me the hardest was TV pitchman extraordinaire Billy Mays. Mays was the one who I always thought had the most to teach us, because when you break our profession down to its core, we are all salespeople. The only difference is that instead of selling OxiClean, Kaboom, ...

Whether I'm working with students one-on-one, presenting to a class or another group audience or responding to students' concerns, there's one question I hear perhaps more than any other: "What can I do with a major in ________?" It's only natural to want to know more about the careers your major might lead you to, especially if you're in a ...

After finishing her journalism undergraduate degree in 2004, 24-year-old Laurie Duffy went straight to graduate school. On the other hand, 33-year-old Carolyn Kaufman worked in information technology for two years after completing her undergraduate degree and then went to grad school. Who made the better decision? It's impossible to be certain. Both Duffy, with a master's degree in corporate communication, and ...

Teachers know a lot of stuff. We are generally respected for our knowledge and our ability to share and pass on this information to others. This kind of respect is welcomed by most teachers, so welcome in fact that sometimes we let it go to our heads. There is power in knowledge, and most teachers wield this power with professionalism and ...

"We must do more with the talent we have," said NSDC Executive Director Stephanie Hirsh. "Nothing is more important than teacher quality," EdSec Arne Duncan said. "We must close the yawning achieving gap in this country," said Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond. With the statements of all three, we were off to the races on the issue of teacher quality and professional ...

People of all ages are choosing to further their education by obtaining bachelors and even masters’ and doctoral degrees. Many people choose to go back to school to open new doors and get ahead in their job, as well as the rest of their lives! Sometimes it’s hard to stay in school if you think you need to be working to ...

1. Dorms College is a time of extreme freedom but, let’s face it, not everything about college screams unfettered space. Students don’t usually have a lot of extra money and that means that their personal space is limited. In fact, the average college student has bunked down in a dorm room. According to the 2000 census, about 2 million students ...

How do you inspire students to learn? Do young people create better work when they are nurtured and primped? Will they respond more enthusiastically if Mozart or Beethoven is played in the classroom? Do they perform higher if they are a product of excellent teacher modeling and demonstration? The answer? None of these are perfect strategies for motivating students in the ...

Continuing education, degree advancement, credential renewal, scholarships, and much more. Connect with the resources you need now. If you're currently a teacher, you know that keeping up with certification renewal is a yearly process. Why not pick up an extra degree along the way and start earning more in a higher salary step? Don't forget to connect with scholarships and financing ...

In every state, teachers must renew their teaching certificates before their current license expires. It is the responsibility of the educator to determine which workshops or training meet the requirements for standard certificate renewal. This requirement exists to make sure educators keep up with the latest in training to stay abreast of changing techniques and standards. School systems provide professional ...

At the close of each school year, we all find ourselves doing what all good teachers should: reflecting on what we did well the past year and on what we can do differently in the future to heed more positive results. This year, I find myself taking extra time thinking about how I can improve the behavior in my classroom. I’ve ...

The alarm goes off at 5:30 am, and you could swear you went to sleep five minutes ago. First a quick shower, followed by the finishing touches on that homework assignment due tonight over coffee and breakfast — if there’s time. Then it’s off to work, a solid eight-plus hours of time where you’re busy with reports, meetings and other assorted ...

“It’s a great day to learn!” This should be the message teachers give students at the start of each class. Deep down in our core, a teacher should be excited to greet eager, young learners. Unfortunately, that’s not always what we communicate to students. When students enter our classrooms, we need to consider our words, expressions, and attitudes carefully. If students ...

Like most teachers, I'm busy. Between teaching, planning, grading, testing, and advising, I rarely have a free moment during the day or night. This is a good thing. My father was fond of saying that “work expands to the time provided.” So true! Every job I do takes me exactly as much time to complete as I budget to complete it. ...

In most classrooms there is at least one child whose behavior requires additional attention from us. The child may be disrespectful to other students, have organization challenges, or struggle to complete class work. School administrators, psychologists, or other teachers often suggest the use of behavior contracts with these students. I personally disliked contracts for years. [gate] After a few weak attempts, ...

On the heels of more than 10 years as a professional journalist, Heather Lalley has found herself back in class. After taking a buyout from The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, then moving to Chicago to work as a freelance writer for a year, Lalley decided it was time to go back to school -- this time to become a classically trained ...

After a full day of teaching other people’s kids, the last thing you want to do is leave your own family to attend graduate classes. Now, thanks to innovative online programs from some of the nation’s top-ranked universities, you can earn your master’s degree in education and balance family, education and work responsibilities. And you’ll earn the same degree that on-campus ...

I was recently eating lunch with a group of my closest girlfriends, who also happen to be my coworkers. We started talking about the topic that is clearly unavoidable: the beginning of the school year. Since most of us have been spending the past few weeks at the pool, on family vacations, cheering our kids on at swim meets, and the ...