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Q6 of Assistive Principles has been noticing a troubling trend among his students--they're expecting praise even when they don't achieve. Using praise to raise self-esteem dulls the use of praise as a reward, says Q6, though there are some instances when a little boosting is alright.

Today I was reminded of why we started praising ordinary things in the first place. One of our students has been getting to school hours late on a regular basis, and today not even the principal and the police officer could get her out of bed to come to school; on the other hand, she lives in a one-room motel room with two parents who drink and party until 2 in the morning, so it's little wonder she's not functional until noon. Another of our students was worried about taking one of his finals this morning, and suggested to his father that he didn't want to go to school today; he arrived at school not long after receiving the beating his father gave him.

We motivate some kids to get to college; we motivate others just to get to tomorrow. Some of these kids get praised for little things because it's all they get a chance to do. Not all of them, and certainly not some of them . . . but a few--a very specific few--deserve the pat on the back for trying.

Posted by Jeff Lambert at 12:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Eduwonkette hangs up her cape. (Lots of good farewell comments, too.)

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nancy Flanagan on the potential "Obama Effect" on student achievement:

But I also believe that for individual students, the election and inauguration can function as Aretha's hat did for ladies across the country: I want that. How do I get it?

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you judged NYC Educator’s literature students solely by the numbers, you’d be pretty impressed with his teaching. They read the books they’re assigned, they pass the tests, and 90 percent of them are getting credit for it. NYC Educator himself is disappointed, however. His students do the work, he says, but they hate reading, something he found out after candidly asking them if they enjoyed an assigned book.

"No one likes books," ventured one kid, unmindful of the conversation that would ensue.

"People love books," I said. "Why do you think every town has a library? Why are those gigantic Barnes and Noble stores in the malls?"

"Only old people like books," said a young woman, with imprudent candor.

I don't remember how I responded to that, as designated representative for old people everywhere. I'm certain, though, it was not altogether favorable, because she said, "That's because you never had anything to do back then. We have computers and video games. We have Guitar Hero."

NYC Educator hasn’t given up hope for his students, but he’s discouraged by the competition reading faces in computers and video games.

I've got another few months to fool them into thinking reading is worthwhile. It's getting tougher to compete with the new toys, though, which seem to get better each year.

Posted by Josh Cohen at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

TLN's John Norton, no one's idea of a technophobe, points out there are good reasons why educators should care about the decline of cursive writing.

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Barack Obama’s historic inauguration on Tuesday served as inspiration for millions of people in America and abroad. Many teachers are excited that their students of color have a role model they can identify with, in one of the most powerful positions in the world. Robert Pondiscio of the Core Knowledge Blog worries, however, that the deeper significance of Obama’s historic inauguration speech was, perhaps ironically, lost on many of the students who heard it.

It’s bittersweet to consider that many students–indeed, many Americans–lack a full appreciation of the moment and their new President’s inaugural address. President Obama’s speech was rich in historical, literary, and biblical references, lending meaning, resonance and emotional weight to his words. Yet these allusions were almost certainly unfamiliar to many of those watching.

To have endured an education where history was a second-tier subject was to be left to wonder today: Who were these people Obama mentioned, who “toiled for us in sweatshops and settled the West?” Who were these people who “endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth?”

Pondiscio thinks Obama’s call for responsibility is particularly significant for teachers who must provide those foundational history lessons that the President referenced and so many audience members missed.

President Obama called upon us today to enter a “new era of responsibility.” It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. For educators, perhaps the noblest duty that we might accept ”not grudgingly but seize gladly” is to ensure that in the very near future our nation’s children are able to judge this President not by the color of his skin, or even the content of his character, but by the full weight of his words.

Posted by Josh Cohen at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a difficult semester, J. of Mildly Melancholy was relieved of her position at an NYC charter school earlier this month. It wasn't unexpected:

I knew something bad was coming, but I didn't want to think it was real, and I didn't think it would happen so soon. This week has been really awful in my classroom (and across the entire grade, actually). I haven't been a happy person at this job, and I haven't been a very effective teacher. So it's actually kind of a big relief.

She finds one immediate benefit to being an ex-teacher: She no longer needs her meds. Indeed in a long, stream-of-conscience post, she meditates ruefully on the physical and mental sacrifices that teachers are virtually expected to make for the sake of their work:

seriously. this is what we get for venerating the martyr teacher--the one who sacrifices everything--family, health, time alone to rest and recuperate--in books and movies. people that take this job and keep it do it because we know it's incredibly important, and we all work hard because we know we can never work hard enough, because the work will never be done, because these kids need so much and most of it we can't give them. and some people are willing and able to make those sacrifices and yes, they are inspirational heroes. Are they realistic role models for the legions of young teachers out there? No way!

Perhaps needless to say, she's now looking for work outside of teaching.

Posted by Anthony Rebora, teachermagazine.org at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In his New York Times blog, Proof, English teacher Alexander Nazaryan admits that teachers need a drink:

For the average drinker, alcohol provides mental escape, but for teachers that escape is physical, too—after spending entire days surrounded by children or teenagers, we are retreating to the one place that will be—ideally—certifiably child-free…

Unlike most other professions, this one drains you completely, refilling you with its own insular, infinite concerns. The intensity may ebb and flow, but it never disappears...Drinking together allows us [to] reclaim an experience that is too often defined by politicians, bureaucrats and reformers who have not spent nearly enough time in the trenches.

Posted by Liana Heitin at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Upon reading Thomas Friedman’s call for an economic stimulus package that includes tax cuts for teachers, Barnett Berry contends that young educators want more than dollars and cents.

[There is} an influx of Gen Y teachers who tell us that the keys to recruiting and retaining talent will require better preparation and tuned-in resources for teaching in high-needs schools, more time to work with colleagues and social workers in solving family and social problems their students face, and new opportunities to serve in major leadership roles to dramatically change the schools in which they teach. Innovative ways to pay teachers more and differently are necessary, but not sufficient.

Posted by Liana Heitin at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It’s appropriate that the ed-tech blog Education Futures is making predictions about the future of education and technology. Education Futures blogger John Moravec details his second annual predictions of what to expect in the coming year. Here’s the short version:

1. No Child Left Behind won’t get left behind …
2. The economic downturn will get much worse before it gets better, but the international impact will be greater than within the U.S. …
3. With limits in available venture capital and new development funds within corporations, technological innovation will slow in the United States …
4. The footprint of open source software will increase, but development will slow down …
5. I’m keeping my money on India, and repeating last year’s prediction: India is the place to be.

Posted by Josh Cohen at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Times parenting blogger Lisa Belkin reports that Charles Saylors will become the first male president of the national Parent Teacher Association this June, the first dad to assume the role in the organization's 112-year history. Belkin says the involvement of both parents in a child's education--including joining the PTA, which is only 10 percent male on the national level--has a positive impact.

The National Household Education Survey by the US Department of Education found that: Students whose fathers were highly involved at school were 43 percent more likely to receive As. Children of highly involved resident fathers were 55 percent more likely to enjoy school than those with uninvolved fathers. Students with nonresident fathers who participated in even one activity at school were 39 percent less likely to repeat a grade and 50 percent less likely to experience serious disciplinary problems.

Posted by Jeff Lambert at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)