TheApple

This month I am supervising the Learning Disabilities Practicum. I have five teachers and twenty children (ages 6-14) with disabilities in the program which meets for half a day for four weeks. The curriculum includes academics, social skills, and physical activities. Some of the things we are discussing are some strategies for teaching reading and writing and I thought I would ...

Well, for most of us, we have about a month left before the end of the semester. Some of us are reaching that weary point of exhaustion and stress that always come with a mound of papers that won’t grade themselves, more classes to teach, and not enough energy to do both (and finish coursework for those of us still on ...

It can be hard to admit when a lesson goes terribly wrong. But rather than bottle is up, TheApple feature writer, Kate Olson, share with us how one of her Wiki lessons didn't turn out the way she planned. As technology becomes more common in the classroom, it's especially refreshing to hear from a teacher who has tried to something and ...

Editor's Note: _Backchannelling_ is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time online conversation alongside live spoken remarks. In an educational setting, students could type in questions or comments for the instructor without interrupting the flow of the lesson. In "SpEdChange,":http://speedchange.blogspot.com/2008/11/bringing-back-channel-forward.html Ira talks about backchanneling. He mentions how he has used it in his class and how they all ...

T J Shay writes, “I try very hard to never look at what everyone else sees wrong with a kid. I always try to listen to different opinions and try to care about them all....even the ones that are hard to like” in Sometimes You Have to Look from a Different Vantage Point. This brought back a lot of good memories ...

In all of my years of teaching, I have never seen so many of my colleagues stressed and out of work. It deeply concerns me and it should concern our nation more than it does. More parents and business leaders should be sending letters to our nation's capitol and marching on state legislatures to protect teacher positions and school programs. This ...

A few weeks ago as I was visiting many of the teacher blogs when I found a post I thought it was interesting. The inspiration of the post came from "What Privileges Do You Have?," based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. ...

“Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point? - Rick Warren” I think this quote applies to administrators, teachers, students, and parents and we need to really take this to heart. So, I decided to write a little note to each. Dear Administrators, • Please don’t ask me to fill out reports when ...

”My kids go to a good school.” What parent doesn’t want to be able to say this about the bricks and mortar location where they entrust their offspring for 7 hours a day, 180 days a year, again and again. And for that matter, what teacher worth his or her salt doesn’t want to be able to say with some conviction, ...

TheApple has partnered with expert education professionals to bring you the best and most current information for a successful career in teaching. Read about our featured writers and partners, listed below in alphabetical order. Become a writer for TheApple. A-F G-L M-P R-T U-Z [page] h3. A + Resumes for Teachers "A+ Resumes for Teachers":http://resumes-for-teachers.com/index.htm offers effective, confidential, certified professional resume ...

With just a few months left until the end of the school year, you may already be wondering just how it is possible to get to the end without becoming batty. With spring and warmer weather still to come, students continue to have their own excuses for not putting 100% effort. And of course, there are more non-school related activities that ...

Summer is a much needed reprieve for both teachers and students.  It allows everyone time to relax and unwind from a busy school year.  The two month break that most school systems have can also be problematic for student learning.  It seems that by the second month of break students start getting antsy and parents scramble to find activities to keep ...

In the article Wisdom of the Wave, Laird Hamilton says that in every new experience he applies lessons he has learned on the water. I thought I would use his lessons and apply them to the classroom. 1. KNOW THAT YOU ARE A SPECK ON THE WATER. As a teacher, I sometimes think things should revolve around my classroom and my ...

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how my friend Junior had posted on his blog calling for people to write about what kind of a legacy we wanted to leave. I have been thinking a whole lot over the past few months about my progression as a teacher, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to really flesh out ...

Teacher data on GreatSchools school profiles (which comes from the state Department of Education) gives you baseline information on the quality of the teachers at a particular school. The type of teacher data you see on GreatSchools.net is determined by the information your state Department of Education makes available to the public. This information varies by state. In California, for example, ...

It is not practical for any new teacher to work in isolation. New teachers who do not feel nurtured in their school environment, are usually to first to consider the prospect of leaving their teaching positions. While starting out can be uncomfortable, there are ways to approach teachers that can naturally lead to collaboration which is a necessary and vital ingredient ...

It happens this time every year. No, I’m not talking about the exhausted crash and burn landing into spring break. I am talking about contract renewal time. That time of the year when teachers have to decide, “Do I really want to come back and do this again next year?” It’s easy to sign early in the years, especially before tenure ...

Big Ideas for Education is part of the Landmark Project created by David Warlick. The purpose of the site is to collect “priority actions that might be taken by a new Department of Education that would promote shifts in education that are relevant to today’s students and their future.” After ideas have been collected, the submitted statements will be linked according ...

Teachers use differentiated teaching to cater to diverse learning needs. All students are different in terms of their achievement, ability, learning and cognitive styles as well as attitudes, pace of learning, personality and motivation. Using Differentiated Instruction with Different Students The lower performing and average students are motivated to try and increase their knowledge because of the input of the stronger ...

You can often hear the most interesting things on talk radio, particularly at the height of campaign season. This afternoon, Eduflack was surfing the AM stations and came across and interesting tale from primary season in Indiana. As he is barnstorming for his wife in the Hoosier State, former President Bill Clinton spoke on education. More importantly, he spoke on scientifically ...