Two weeks ago, I wrote about the challenges of teaching the 2016 presidential election. I’ve thought about it a lot since then and developed a lesson that I hope will enable students to openly discuss and critically evaluate the candidates and issues. In the lesson, each student is randomly assigned a role, as a voter…
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Motivation, without the guilt
At the end of last year, when I was stepping down as newspaper adviser, my student editors put together a surprise “tribute” page where they shared nice comments about me. One that really stuck with me was this: “She always pushed me to work harder and never made me feel guilty for not finishing something.”…
Read MoreWhen to cold-call? Today.
When is the best time to start cold-calling students? The first day of class. There are plenty of reasons not to. We have to “get through” the syllabus. We don’t know the students’ names yet. We haven’t built a relationship yet. The students haven’t learned any of the material yet. But I’m going to argue…
Read MoreTeaching this election won’t be easy
Yesterday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump renewed his pledge to build a wall at the Mexican border, deport 11 million illegal immigrants and suspend immigration from countries like Libya and Syria. In our public school classrooms, we have students who would be deported — or at the very least harassed about their immigration status —…
Read MoreWhat will inspire cynics like us?
When I was a new teacher, the woman in charge of training read to us — repeatedly — from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Inspirational stories meant to uplift us and instill passion for our jobs. Even as a novice, I was much too cynical for that. My friends and I laughed about it, trying…
Read MoreReplace teachers? I’ve heard that one before
Last week, Wisconsin GOP Sen. Ron Johnson riled a lot of teachers by suggesting that students learn more from Ken Burns documentaries than they do in history class. (See this article.) More videos, fewer teachers! Never heard that one before. Except perhaps when Thomas Edison said: “It is possible to teach every branch of human…
Read MoreDon’t scoff at the need to change
This Faculty Meeting Bingo card (from weareteachers.org) showed up on my Facebook feed last week, one of many ironic commentaries on back-to-school season. It’s funny, of course, and I could easily fill it in during our first all-staff meeting later this month. “The phrase ‘college-ready’” – check “An internet meme is used in the presentation”…
Read MoreIf you train us, we will use it
Workshop participant: What is that pen tool you were using? Me: It’s a Wacom Intuit tablet — it lets me use my computer like my Smartboard. Workshop participant: So you’re using Smartboard software? Me: Yeah, I like it better than Powerpoint. It’s easier for drawing graphs. Workshop participant: Oh that’s interesting. I’ve only ever used…
Read MoreIs the teacher supposed to get it wrong?
Oops. Nothing feels worse than making a mistake that could confuse your students for days, if not weeks. Today, in a summer course for new econ teachers, I drew a graph wrong. That really shouldn’t happen at this point — I’ve done this for years, and I know how to show firms shifting production from…
Read MoreYes, fun is a good goal
Have you ever run into students over the summer who told you excitedly that they are studying vocabulary for next year? Drawing graphs? Solving problems with formulas? Reading textbooks? No, probably not. Last night I ran into three students at a Junior Achievement event, and they couldn’t wait to tell me what they’d been doing…
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MARTHA RUSH 