Typically, schools hold parent-teacher conferences with parents one to two times a year. Many times, parents dread these conferences because of how they are set up, how they are run and due to the time constraints of the parent, how long they take. What can teachers and schools do to help make parent-teacher conferences successful? According to the NEA (National Education Association) teachers can do a lot to help alleviate some of the problems that arise at parent-teacher conferences. The first thing teachers need to do is schedule the conference based on what date and time the parents have previously … Continue reading →

American Education Week is coming up from November 12th to November 18th, are you ready to celebrate America’s educational system? Did you know that there even was an education week for celebrating? Me either, and I was a teacher in the public school setting for almost ten years. Too bad no one told me there was an entire week for celebrating education. I guess that is because every week should be spent celebrating education and the folks that do the educating! This year’s theme for American Education Week is, Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility. This year’s … Continue reading →

A new way of reporting a bully, threats or other violence is emerging in schools throughout the country. Just what is it? Schools are setting up special email accounts for students to write and send in reports of threats or bullies anonymously. Schools are also offering a hotline where students or concerned parents can call to report threats without giving their name. Everything is completely anonymous. What will this do for school safety? Or better yet, what do schools hope this will do to keep their school safe? Many schools that are implementing this bully/threat reporting system are hoping that … Continue reading →

What do you think of grouping students in schools according to ability level? Grouping students according to ability would mean that students would be tracked and grouped by their ability levels. Low-level learners would be grouped together while higher-level learners would be grouped together. Can you see this type of situation working? Is it beneficial to any learner at any school? People who believe that ability level grouping is a positive thing believe that this grouping allows teachers to focus on specific instruction for a specific level of student. Supporters of ability level grouping believe that it also allows for … Continue reading →

In-school suspension. Does it really work? Is it really effective? Many teachers and schools believe that having students who are suspended serve the suspension in school is much better than having students serve the suspension outside of school. After all, students are bound to learn a lesson if they are in school being monitored and given work to do rather than at home where they may potentially goof off. Due to this, many schools are reevaluating their in-school suspension strategy to work a bit better and be more beneficial to the student. In essence, schools are trying to make this … Continue reading →