Dear colleague, The longer I teach and think about student motivation, the more direct I tend to get. For example, the other day during a talk to AP teachers, I said, rather bluntly, that an AP student who works hard primarily to get a grade or earn college credit is actually a poorly motivated student. […]
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The Funnest and Easiest Way to Plan a Moment of Genuine Connection
Dear colleague, I’ve written lots re: moments of genuine connection (MGCs), and bit by bit I see the idea infiltrating the broader educational conversation. It’s basically a classic example of what I write about: stupidly simple ideas (stuff we all do) combined with stupidly simple systems (stuff we often neglect) to produce profoundly powerful changes in student […]
Teaching Is Absurd
Dear colleague, My friend Shelly Alvarez refers to especially tricky or wild or crazy situations in the classroom as “special opportunities.” When she says it, there’s this big, goofy grin on her face and her eyes are just a few clicks to the left of sane. It is perfect. Of all the months of the […]
Is Your Class Valuable? Just Ask ‘Em!
Dear colleague, This is the year of Value, right? It’s been a couple months since I wrote that article, but it’s still my take. The great schools of today and tomorrow won’t be differentiated by how they approach AI as much as they will be for the degree to which they help students Value the […]
Rainbow of Why Student Reflections in Middle School (Valued Within Exercise)
Dear colleague, For many years now I’ve been grateful to be in touch with Alfred G. Waters Middle School in the Appoquinimink School District in Middletown, DE. My first visit there was for a PD on literacy across the school day, and it helped me clarify the ideas that I would eventually lay out in […]