I’ve always felt a little embarrassed about my classroom management style. I know if many of my colleagues walked in during class — especially at the beginning — they would be appalled. It doesn’t look like I’m running a tight ship. They would probably wonder: Why aren’t those kids in their seats when the bell…
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I have been teaching high school for 26 years, and I cannot tolerate bored, disengaged teenagers. I've spent my entire career developing student engagement strategies that work and abandoning lessons that don't work. As a result, my students frequently comment that they are "never bored" in my class. I'm proud of that -- and of my students' outstanding performance.
I'll use this blog to talk about engagement strategies as well as other issues facing teachers, students and everyone who cares about education today. I hope you find it interesting.
Like so much that’s worth learning, trade is complicated
Teachers spend a lot of time trying to break down difficult concepts and make them easier for our students to digest, but what about when the truth is just complicated? How can we combat the crisis of oversimplification in this country and get our kids to muddle around in complexity? This weekend, I taught my…
Read More‘Flush with funds’ sounds nice
My school district spends about $13,000/student each year. President Trump’s children went to private schools that cost $30,000-$50,000. Baron’s elementary school in New York charges $47,000 per student this year. So I wonder what our president means when he says our public schools are “flush with funds”? I wonder what it would be like to…
Read MoreReady? Yeah, right
First day of second semester, and I arrived at school feeling so ready. First semester finals graded ✔ Moodle course site updated ✔ Chromebooks assigned ✔ Textbooks ready to check out ✔ Seating charts carefully designed and printed ✔ Lesson plans ready ✔ What could possibly go wrong? If you’re a teacher, you know the…
Read MoreLearning history in the present
Women marched peacefully on Saturday to demonstrate pride and autonomy — and to let President Trump know they won’t stand for any rollback of women’s rights. Or, women marched and destroyed property Saturday to whine about losing the election. Or, women marched Saturday as dupes of outside forces, including radical Islam. Which version do you…
Read MoreWhy best practices don’t prevail
Bad news last week. My district’s school board has decided to delay implementation of later start times for high school students – a change that was scheduled for fall 2017. No reason was given, but I imagine it involved pushback by parents and teachers of elementary school kids, who don’t like the idea of their…
Read MoreKids work like crazy when they have a purpose
What does motivation look like? I saw it in the faces of about 40 kids at Irondale High School (MN) on Saturday morning. They were the KnightKrawler robotics team members, gathered in the library at 9:30 a.m., waiting for the “big reveal.” Saturday was the day when organizers of the global FIRST Robotics competition announced…
Read MoreThe dreaded conversation
Here’s one thing parents and teachers have in common: We both get nervous when the other is on the phone. A call from school: Parents worry that their child is in trouble, is failing, is misbehaving – and that they (the parents) are somehow to blame. A call from a parent: Teachers worry that the…
Read MoreTeaching teachers? At least model good teaching
It’s bad enough when someone puts up a PowerPoint and talks at me for an hour about a dull topic like ACT test prep, choosing a textbook or the school’s new tardy policy. But when a conference presenter who promises a session on “inquiry learning” puts up a tiny-font PowerPoint and lectures me about how…
Read MoreThe elusive promise of ‘choice’
School-choice advocates are cheering the nomination of Betsy DeVos to head Trump’s Department of Education, while public school proponents are worried about what her leadership would mean for the future of public education. What is it about charter schools and voucher systems, which DeVos unabashedly supports, that makes them so divisive? Why do many conservatives…
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MARTHA RUSH 