I love math! My favorite subject to teach was Algebra, and I taught it in middle school for several years. If students took Algebra in 7th grade, they likely came from advanced 6th-grade math and had been in advanced math in 5th grade. These students were well-versed in math! However, they were well-versed in math […]
Picture yourself walking into a classroom for the first time. You don’t know anyone. You find a seat and look around. Does anyone look like you? Whose images, quotes, and posters are on the walls? Are you greeted with a smile? Will you know how to ask for help when you need it? Will you […]
Walkthrough Tools for a Busy Principal School leaders, you are pivotal to everything that happens in your school! Budgets, schedules, staffing, parent concerns, bus problems, student discipline, board reports, a leaky roof . . . a tall order! Too often, instructional leadership slips away under the urgent requests of any given day. Yes, teacher observations […]
What Do We Do with Screen Time? If you lead an elementary school, you have likely heard the concerns: Screens harm children’s eyes. Screens rewire young brains. Young children need books and blocks, not tablets. The media shares research and warnings; parents raise these worries at back-to-school night and parent meetings; teachers raise them in […]
It All Comes Down to Executive Function Positive behavior is dependent upon strong executive function. Punishments and bribes will do little to change behavior. We have to get to the root causes of behavior problems. A very important root cause is a lack of developmentally appropriate executive function. Academic achievement depends on executive function. Mental […]