The Student as a Mirror

The moment you realize
your student’s issue
is a lot like yours
is a good moment

When it comes to deep work, our students are mirrors. In them we see our past stumbles, the traps we avoided, the ones we triggered. The harder work is to also see our current challenges.
If you can see nothing of yourself, [...]

October 28th, 2008 | Category: Excellence in Teaching, Teacher Traps | Leave a comment

A Few More Words on Edupunk

I agree that Edupunk is not a new concept, that empowering students to find understanding on their own is classic education taught by excellent teachers for millennia.
But there is something new here as well: the world. Not only is it new because technology and culture sculpt this time and place uniquely, but because [...]

October 23rd, 2008 | Tags: | Category: Other Voices | 2 comments

Poverty in Teaching

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is poverty.
Schools need more material support, teachers need to be paid better, and of course children need to be fed. Material poverty is a serious problem, no dispute, and we should address it however we can, on a personal basis.
But a focus on material poverty allows [...]

October 15th, 2008 | Tags: , , | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Teaching through Ignorance

There is an important point woven through Michelle Baldwin’s Think About-Digital Literacy and Administrators and it is this: you do not need to be an expert to teach a subject. This is not her overall point, which is that we must teach digital literacy in public schools, even without the resources and administrative support [...]

October 13th, 2008 | Tags: | Category: Other Voices | 2 comments

Another Year’s Reflections

Today marks the end of the second year I have been writing here, a good time for reflection.
To my surprise, my far most popular article continues to be What is a Teacher? I wonder what my readers want from this article, and if they find it there.
This year’s most popular articles include Exercises in [...]

October 9th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Other Voices: No Shortcuts in Teaching

In There Are No Shortcuts Tom Woodward offers some points about teaching that I appreciate, among them:

“Technology will not save you.”
“Note what doesn’t work and then remember to see if you do it.”
“Get to know your students… Have actual conversations with them.”

Another point Woodward makes, by demonstration, is how effective small, incisive posts can be. [...]

October 4th, 2008 | Category: Other Voices | Leave a comment