The Tribe

This:  “Four Lessons for Life, Leadership, and Learning: A Tribute to the Late Grant Wiggins” by Stephanie Malia Krauss In 2015, we mourned the loss of Grant Wiggins (blog).  Over ten years ago, we were introduced to the writing and thinking of Grant Wiggins before Education Resource Group was ever dreamed about.  Whenever we saw…

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Pep Talk

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . The finish line is in sight, and students and teachers are striving to complete the race.  You are weary, children have learned what buttons to push to create conflict and get reactions, and you simply want to keep a healthy classroom environment that is filled with…

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No more busy work.

From the desk of Katie… Highschool.  Large classes, playing sports, clubs, social events, wanting to sleep late and stay up even later, driving, prom, and college applications. Highschool is supposed to be busy but not miserable, we should be able to have a life outside of school and homework, and that just isn’t possible if…

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Choice Can Make a Difference

From the desk of Carol C. . . A few weeks ago my friend, Jan, asked me to come into her classroom and videotape her students working on math projects they had designed.  All of the projects centered around what her students had learned about geometry; however, each project was different.  One group chose to…

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All Means All

From the desk of Hope… Several weeks ago as I checked in with my social network accounts I noticed the hash tag #ALLmeansall. This phrase caught my attention and I paused to think about the meaning of – “ALL means all”. All, as in all children?, All of what? I asked myself as I tried…

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Independent Learners, Part II

From the desk of Carol C. . . Last week we looked at some of the characteristics of independent learners.  This week let’s focus on how educators can help children become independent learners. If independent learners are risk takers, how do we help our students take more risks?  Once we’re sure our students understand what…

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Importance of Choice

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “The 3 C’s of Life:  Choices, Chances, Changes.  You must make a choice to take a chance or your life will never change.”  – Unknown The children in our classrooms make choices all day long.  They choose to obey or ignore the rules, say kind or…

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Seeing Instead of Being Told

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . As a young educator I felt the overwhelming need to be in control.  I thought to be a successful teacher my schedule must run like clockwork, my students must sit quietly and compliantly following my directions, – and if all went as I had so neatly planned – the learning would flow like…

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The Power of Losing Control

From the desk of Monica… Choice helps students. Really, it does. I admit it. I am a control freak. If I could, I would control every part of my life, my circumstances, and my career. All of it. And as I get older, I realize that the quote from that 1990s racing movie, Days of…

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What's the Weather?

From the desk of Leigh Ann . . . “It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather.”  – unknown As teachers we are are tasked with building the whole child – academically, socially, and emotionally.  The climate in my classroom is instrumental to me meeting the…

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