Author Archive

Job-Ready Resumé / Preschools by State / 1st Grade Spreadsheets

Monday, June 12th, 2017

Job-Ready

My Perfect Resume

@Perfect_Resume_

How State-Funded Pre-K Stacks Up – How is your state doing? @ElissaNadworny @CsanchezClaudio @npr @TracyMar @balmeras

Spreadsheet Fun in First Grade – This is worth a try with your first graders. @PrimarilyGoogle @sjgorman

Social/Mobile Media Education

Do NOT Flip Your Classroom (Unless … ) – There are some valid reasons not to flip your classroom. Best one is that sudents don’t have the technology. @flippedlearning

Learning

Rome
The Roman Empire, Designed As A Subway Map – History and geography buffs should enjoy this. @MyBoyTrubetskoy @digg

Leadership/Parenting

28 Ways to Incorporate a Growth Mindset Concept in the Classroom – That’s a lot of ways. Some should work with your students/children. Candace also has resumé advice for teachers. @Candace_Davies

Inspirational/Funny Tweets

Building Inspector: what’s this called? Darth Vadar: the death—[inspector’s eyes look up from his clipboard] uh the health star. @bobvulfov @mic

Humor, Music, Cool Stuff

Pornhub Is the Kinsey Report of Our Time. This article would be a good primer on the topic for teachers and parents. Don’t forget most kids get their sex ed from online porn. @TheCut

Recent Book Summaries, Original Work, and Guest Posts

Three Cornerstones to Consider When Choosing an Essay Writing Company by Lucy Adam

Good Luck Learning a Foreign Language in American Schools – This is my latest post for Starr Sackstein’s Ed Week Teacher blog. I don’t mean it as criticism of foreign language teachers. @DrDougGreen @mssackstein

Use Text Messaging to Connect with Parents and Improve Student Performance by Ken Rhie

SP2

Special Education 2.0: Breaking Taboos to Build a NEW Education Law by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman

Counting What Counts: Reframing Education Outcomes by Yong Zhao & Friends

Never Send a Human to Do a Machine’s Job: Correcting the Top 5 EdTech Mistakes by Yong Zhao, Gaoming Zhang, Jing Lei, and Wei Qiu

Check out my tes author page. @DrDougGreen @tesusa

Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein

Teaching isn’t rocket science, it’s way more complex. This is my latest and one of my best. Hope you like and share. @DrDougGreen @tesusa @davidjmarley

Be sure to try the bottom right translate button for your favorite language or one you are trying to learn. If you don’t see it check your ad blocking software.

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Teen Driving Basics: What Your New Driver Should Know About Car Maintenance by Mark Conor

Sunday, June 11th, 2017

Tire
Teen Driving Basics: What Your New Driver Should Know About Car Maintenance by Mark Conor offers excellent advice for parents who are preparing a child to assume the responsibilities of driving a car. While Mark started this effort due to his son’s ADHD condition, this advice is good for parents of all children. Thanks Mark.

Introduction

  • Getting a driver’s license is a right of passage for almost every teenager and many cannot wait to hit the road once they have passed the written and road tests. Parents have a lot to consider when it comes to letting their newly-licensed teens drive, and teaching them car maintenance basics should be near the top of the list.

Evaluate whether your teen with ADHD is truly ready to drive

Teach teens the basics of vehicle maintenance

Walk through changing tires and managing blowouts

  • Your Mechanic suggests that parents take the lessons regarding car maintence a step further. For example, teaching a teen to change a tire can come in quite handy. It is important to teach teens, especially those with ADHD, this process slowly and patiently, having them do the steps alongside you if possible.
  • It may be wise to teach teens how to handle emergency situations like having a tire blowout while driving. Many people, including plenty of adults, panic at a time like this and cause additional damage or even injuries. When a blowout happens, it’s important to stay calm, hold on firmly to the steering wheel, and let the vehicle slow without using the brakes and get to the side of the road.

Prepare your teen for issues while on the road

  • Jumping the battery is another car care basic that can come in handy for teenagers. InMotion includes this on their list of what teens should know about auto care and most adult drivers know that a dead battery is a common car-related issue. Jumping a battery isn’t difficult, but it’s a process that should be carefully explained to teens, especially those with ADHD who have challenges with focusing.
  • There is a lot for teenagers to learn about car safety, driving rules, and maintenance before they hit the road, and this can be overwhelming for teens with ADHD. Parents should take things slowly and it can be helpful to create written checklists or a checklist to put on a teen’s phone to make it easy to remember what needs to be done. It may seem like a lot of work upfront, but preparing your teen with maintenance basics and an overall appreciation for a vehicle will serve them well as they hit the road and face challenges in the driving days ahead.

Mark Conor

  • Mark created DriveSafely after his son, who has ADHD, started driving. He hopes the site will encourage teens and adults to make good decisions behind the wheel.
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Three Cornerstones to Consider When Choosing an Essay Writing Company by Lucy Adam

Friday, June 9th, 2017

Writing
Three Cornerstones to Consider When Choosing an Essay Writing Company by Lucy Adam from the UK offers a look at an industry that is no doubt much larger than most educators realize. She also gives good advice for choosing and working with these companies. While I don’t recommend passing someone else’s work off as your own for a grade or college admission, I do think that getting feedback from a professional writer is a great way to improve your own writing.

Why Students Pay for Essays

  • Why Students Pay for Essays: According to statistics, essay writing is one of the most quickly developing niches in the writing business. Let’s face it – the essay writing industry is worth over 128 million dollars or 100 million pounds and is expected to grow further in the future. For example, the two biggest UK essay mills process more than 20,000 orders a year!
  • This undeniable popularity of essay writing services opens great perspectives for both writers and clients. The latter, however, are always in danger, as they can never know what to expect from the ubiquitous companies on the market. In fact, paying for an essay is basically gambling, as in 90 cases out of 100 you cannot be sure of the reliability of a company that you are using for the first time.
  • But is buying an essay a worthwhile option? How to make sure that the company provides the best value for money? How to hit the bull’s eye when ordering an essay for the first time?Below are three cornerstones to consider before making your first order.

#1 Type of Agency

  • The first thing you will encounter is the company’s website. Ideally, it should be neat, understandable and contain detailed information about the service. If you are satisfied with what you see, compare the type of work you need with the services provided by the agency. Some companies sell ready-made papers, while with others you give detailed instructions to writers in order to explain to them what exactly you need. The big advantage is that you can ask the author to adapt his or her writing style to match yours so that the paper will not look like a sudden huge leap from “D” to “A” level work.
  • Moreover, a reliable writing company must ask you about your class and writing skills, not to mention the paper guidelines. If you are not requested to send a sample of your previous essays, how can you be sure that the future work will suit you? Decide what you need. A custom essay, essay help, research paper, term paper, homework help or proofreading? When it comes to essays, they can be narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, argumentative, analytical, etc. The more detailed the guidelines, the easier the essay writing and the less you will be charged.

#2 Reputation

  • Apart from feedback, the best way to check whether a service is reputable is to test its customer support. It most likely operates via email. If so, make an enquiry and wait for a response. It should come very quickly and contain a detailed explanation of the issue. If that does not happen or is delayed, think twice before ordering an essay from this company. You must be able to get in touch with them whenever you need, 24/7.
  • As for reviews from previous clients, it is better to check them personally by contacting a few satisfied customers from the list. Unfortunately, many companies pay strangers to write feedback. Another sign of reliability is the amount of personal information requested. If the company asks for data that you think they do not need (for example, your social security number, phone number or birthday), these people may want to make money off your identity.

#3 Rates, or Value for Money

  • To get the best value for money, pay attention to the following:
    Are Ph.D. and MA writers onboard?
    Do you have an opportunity to choose the author and communicate with him or her yourself?
    Is there a rating system showing the best writers alongside the price?
    Is it possible to get a free sample to assess the level of writing and general look of an academic paper?
  • The price may seem to be crucial, but this is only at first glance. Purchasing based on price alone, you have a high chance of failure, especially when it comes to admission essays. If you need writing help only once, is there really a good reason to save money? Do you care how much you will spend on a ticket to Oxford, Cambridge or any other university that you have been dreaming about for a long time?!

Writing 2

The Conclusion, or Do Ethics Matter?

  • Being a conscientious student (which I hope you are), you cannot help but consider the ethical side of paying for an essay. The problem is a complex one and everything depends on your personality. Cheating is bad, no doubt, but haven’t you asked yourself how fertile the ground must be to generate hundreds of essay mills all over the world, not just in the UK and USA? Don’t you think that worldwide educational problems are too significant to pretend that there is a level playing field?
  • How many chances do non-natives have to outperform natives in essay writing? What about students engaged in voluntary activities? What about those who have personal problems? Do they deserve special conditions? Is education personalized enough? Is it fair and capable of providing students with relevant, up-to-date knowledge that will remain in demand for at least the near future? Since these and many other burning questions remain unanswered, don’t blame yourself too much for paying for an essay. Life isn’t fair and only the strongest will survive

Lucy Adam

  • Lucy is a blogger and aspiring writer. This diligent and responsive author is always ready to bring intriguing topics to life. Lucy covers materials on education, writing, literature, and many other niches. Don’t miss this brilliant chance to start a mutually beneficial collaboration with her. lucyadams@buzzessay.com

Dr. Doug’s Take on Buying Essays

  • While I generally don’t favor submitting work you have purchased as if it is your own, I think it’s important for my readers to understand that this goes on and how the system works. Here are some questions I suggest you and your students consider in addition to the thoughts offered by Lucy.
  • 1. Rather than leveling the playing field, doesn’t purchasing essays tip it more in favor of students with means and against poor kids?
  • 2. If your purchased admissions essay gets you into a better school where you can’t compete, will you be more likely to drop out than if you went to a school that your real skills can get you in?
  • 3. I would hope that most teachers would have students submit writing samples done entirely in class along with outside assignments. This would allow the teacher to see each student’s skill level, which they could compare to submitted work done outside of class. Would this cause more kids to get caught cheating?
  • 4. It seems that going through the process of selecting an author, providing him or her with a sample of your writing and negotiating topic and price would be a valuable experience that requires critical thinking and problem solving. As a result, the student could be building skill for life in the real world.
  • 5. Would it be possible for a service to help a student edit a piece or writing? This wouldn’t involve any more cheating than kids do when they ask a parent or friend to read what they have written. I know my wife read everything my daughter wrote for submission and gave her suggestions for making it better. She also proof read everything I wrote while I doing working on my doctorate. Getting good feedback from a professional writer is valuable. If you can afford to purchase help, this is what I suggest.
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Use Text Messaging to Connect with Parents and Improve Student Performance by Ken Rhie

Friday, May 12th, 2017

Use Text Messaging to Connect with Parents and Improve Student Performance by Ken Rhie gives teachers a way to more effectively and efficiently communicate with parents. It also suggests his product from Trumpia that teachers can use to make this process even easier.

Trumpia

Introduction

  • As a teacher, you are strongly dedicated to the success of your students. To ensure that each student has the best chance of success, you need to maintain ongoing communication with his or her parents. However, because both parents and teachers are busy, finding an effective method of communication can be difficult.
  • In the past, teachers often communicated with parents using papers sent home from school, phone calls or emails. However, these methods are resource-intensive and not guaranteed to be seen. Text messaging, on the other hand, is making a strong impact by allowing you to maintain an open dialogue with parents in a more effective and efficient manner.

Why Is It Important to Communicate with Parents?

  • Communicating with parents on a regular basis offers many benefits for students and teachers alike, including:
  • More parent involvement. – When parents are communicating with teachers on a regular basis, they are more likely to become involved in their child’s studies and other school activities.
    Improved performance. – According to Harvard Family Research Project, ongoing communication with parents and increased parent involvement can improve student performance over time.
    Efficiency for teachers. – Teachers need to communicate with parents for many different reasons. However, because teachers are responsible for so many students, communicating with each parent individually can be time-consuming. Text messaging allows teachers to communicate with parents more efficiently, which leaves more time for their other tasks.
    Fewer phone calls or emails from parents. – SMS messaging keeps parents informed about their children’s activities, which cuts down on the number of questions teachers will receive via email or on the phone.

Benefits of using SMS for Communication

  • SMS messaging is an ideal choice for busy teachers who want to communicate with the parents of their students on a regular basis. Some of the specific benefits of SMS include:
  • Flexibility. – The majority of adults own a cellphone, so teachers can use this technology to communicate with most or all of their students’ parents. In addition, teachers can use SMS to communicate about a variety of topics, including grades, upcoming events, parent-teacher conferences, and more.
    It’s Instant – When you send a text message to a parent, it is received almost instantly. Because most people check their phones frequently, the message is likely to be read soon after it is received. In many cases, parents will read messages immediately.
    Efficiency. – Texting is quick and it conserves resources. When teachers use SMS to communicate with parents, they don’t need to waste ink, paper or their time.

Using SMS Effectively

  • As a teacher, you can use SMS to communicate with parents about almost anything, including PTA meetings, holidays, schedule changes, cancellations, grades, and absences. You can also use this technology to collect information from parents, remind them to turn in important paperwork or discuss behavioral problems. Text messaging can be used to send the same message to all parents, to send personalized messages to individual parents, or to send a specific message to a select group of parents. Teachers can also receive messages from parents with this technology.
  • Text messaging can be a very effective tool for teachers, but it is important to choose the right platform. Before choosing a provider, schools should consider the available features, cost, and reputation carefully. For more information on how integrating a text messaging software will boost communication between teachers and parents, click here!

Ken Rhie

  • Ken Rhie is the CEO of Trumpia, which earned a reputation as the most complete SMS solution including user-friendly user interface and API for mobile engagement, Smart Targeting, advanced automation, enterprise, and cross-channel features for both mass texting and landline texting use cases. Mr. Rhie holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He has over 30 years of experience in the software, internet, and mobile communications industries.
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Special Education 2.0: Breaking Taboos to Build a NEW Education Law by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman

Monday, May 8th, 2017

SP2

Special Education 2.0: Breaking Taboos to Build a NEW Education Law by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman points out the successes and flaws of the 1975 law that established federal control of public school special education programs. It argues against labeling students and for giving all students what they need without wasting money on bureaucracy and litigation. Share this with policy makers you know.

Preamble and Guiding Principles

  • The main idea is that public education needs to meet the needs of all students and that there should be no individual entitlement. Strangling paperwork and compliance requirements need to be streamlined. There is a focus on home-based, parent engagement learning environments along with preschools to close language and other gaps. Adaptations should be aimed at improving learning, not just getting kids through. We should learn from other countries like Finland and fund research-based programs. Early interventions for struggling students is key. Least intervention needed should replace least restrictive environment and strengths should be highlighted along with weaknesses. Teacher preparation should be strengthened. There should be a focus on student engagement and student responsibility to be motivated and present. Due process rights should be the same for all.

Why a NEW Law

  • The current special education law (IDEA) was first passed in 1975 and tweaked several times since. Prior to that, many children with special needs were barred from public schools or served poorly. While the law has had some positive impact, it has also had a number of unintended consequences. They include the rampant fear of litigation, too much bureaucratic regulation paperwork, excessive cost, and input-driven requirements far removed from improving outcomes for students. While Congress is expected to reauthorize the law again, all we can expect is that they will change discipline policies, add and/or subtract assessments, reemphasize inclusion, and perhaps reallocate more resources. What Miriam sees is a 20th-century law that isn’t working well in the 21st century. This is the foundation for her belief that lawmakers should start from scratch.
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