There’s a running joke in my family about a niece who, as a young child, complained that she was “bored” whenever she was tired, hungry, angry, or dissatisfied for any reason. On one memorable car ride, when she forgot to wear her hat and wasn’t allowed to go back and get it, she whined loudly…
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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.
Fail fast… or not at all?
It’s been a few years since I have failed a student. Usually, the extensive scaffolding, phone calls home, opportunities for retakes and frequent attention/harassment I provide are enough to keep everyone on track, at least enough to earn an honest D. In the few cases where they are not — the student who rarely comes…
Read MoreLet them laugh (at least a little)
“I love subbing for your classes. Your classroom has such a great culture; you must be doing something right.” A colleague who has filled in for me six times this spring (so far) gave me this unexpected compliment today, when we crossed paths in the early morning copy room. It was a great start to…
Read MoreAdvice students don’t want to hear
“If a student got 100% in your class by delegating all his tasks/homework and papers to a virtual assistant and spent under $20 for the entire semester, is that bad? … Because in the real world, you are the most efficient employee of all time.” Will Tjernlund, a former student, posed this question to me…
Read MoreNew teachers need help, not hurdles
When I started teaching at Mounds View High School in 1997, I was about as well prepared as a new teacher can be. I was already eight years out of undergrad, with five years experience in journalism, three years in other schools and a little life experience. I was idealistic, organized, self-confident and willing to…
Read MoreWhat students learn from each other
I’ve always been reluctant to let students teach other students, for a few reasons: First, how much do students really know? Second, will they give each other honest feedback? Third, are the “teaching” students losing their own opportunity to be challenged? This year, I’ve seen how powerful students teaching students can be. I’ve been so…
Read MoreWe need to create independent learners
One of the major changes I’ve seen in 20 years of teaching is the subtle shift toward more scaffolding, step-by-step instructions and detailed scoring rubrics. Today every major assignment — like a paper, presentation or debate — requires an almost legalistic explanation of what is expected and how students will be evaluated, point by point.…
Read MoreInvite us to the party
What are the best new ideas in education? Who has the solutions that will motivate and inspire today’s students? This week, several of my Penn classmates attended the ASU GSV education technology summit in San Diego. According to the summit’s promotional materials, the program included “the top minds in talent and education from around the…
Read MoreYes, I love my job, but…
One of the drawbacks of blogging about your work is that there’s so much you just can’t say. The situations I cannot write about — because they might irreparably harm relationships or violate student privacy — are often the very problems we need to discuss. Because I self-censor day-to-day frustrations, I know that in my writing,…
Read MoreSmall effort, big impact
Earlier this semester, in her regular economics class at Tartan High School, teacher Lori Raebel enlisted three students to act as workers in a brief simulation. In the lesson, each worker can pick one unit of carrots, but they can pick different amounts of apples — one, three or five units — depending on their…
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MARTHA RUSH 