I don’t really like giving unsolicited advice to parents. But in this article I’m going to. So I just want to begin by saying that I understand that teaching is very different from (not to mention easier than) parenting. Parenting is made up of complex interactions day after day that layer upon each other and …
Some students will make you feel like a great teacher no matter what you do. Success lives inside them so fully, it seems to spill over to you as a teacher. Some students reveal to you how good you are as a teacher. They’ll drink if you bring them to the water, but they’ll make …
Welcome to a new school year! I hope it is shaping up to be as exciting and fulfilling as I’m sure you’ve been planning all summer. May it be a wonderful year for you and your family. In my first article of the school year, I thought I would give you a window into my …
I’ve recently taught my daughter to ride her bike and it’s amazing how much of a vicarious thrill you can get by watching a four year old do something that you’ve been able to do since you were four. Honestly, I don’t even enjoy riding a bike very much at this point. But I sure …
Let’s think about reducing class size for a moment. Not as the substance of this article, but as a means of understanding an important principle. Smaller classes are often spoken of as a panacea to the ills in public education. Do you want better academic achievement? More individual attention? A more successful classroom? Reduce class …
I had an illuminating experience with my advanced debate classes this past month. I led an extended discussion over three weeks focused on the following question: What is the ideal classroom cell phone policy for the average high school classroom? If you don’t mind, maybe you could take thirty seconds and think about what comes …
This past month has been a very difficult one for many students, parents, and teachers in the Independent Education Program. With the passing of Isaac Holt, we lost an important part of our community. His passing also highlights our concern for all students who deal with suicidality and our desire to see all of our …
Years ago I was running a summer debate camp and a father of one of the students came to pick up his son. We got to chatting and he asked me what I did for a living. I told him that what I was doing at the camp was what I do for a living. …
Can we all take a moment to just appreciate how great co-ops are? I’ve interacted with so many over the years and the people who run them are so dedicated and benefit their communities so much. They provide low cost flexible options for homeschoolers, they are often the beating heart of social connection for homeschooled …
As far as I can tell, it is widely agreed that critical thinking is an educational good, a key academic outcome, and even a core academic skill. What is less widely agreed upon is what critical thinking is. This isn’t so much because there is a fierce debate raging in academia about the definition of …