Most states are adopting the new Common Core Standards, requiring that students’ reading curriculum include more rigorous and nonfiction materials. In fact, the goal is to have 70 percent of a student’s reading come from informational texts by graduation, according to the article “New Literacy Standards Could Challenge Even Passionate Readers.” This shift in reading content is aimed at helping build reading skills students will need in college, career and throughout their lives.
Education in the arts can do more than boost a student’s creativity. A new report by the National Endowment for the Arts shows high school students who had “arts-rich experiences” had a higher overall GPA than students who weren’t involved in the arts. The report also found disadvantaged high school students involved in the arts were more likely to enroll in competitive colleges than their peers who weren’t involved, according to the article “Arts Involvement Narrows Student Achievement Gap.“
How do you get people interested in a lesson and how do you make the information stick, whether it is in classroom or a board room?
Consider what engages any audience, whether they’re educators, low-income students, or CEOs. As an educator, you need to know your audience and define what they need to know to better themselves academically, personally, or professionally. Chances are if you were to hold a professional development class for second-grade teachers and you chose to present on the lifespan of bumble bees in Venezuela, the teachers would not find your presentation key to advancement in their career. Why? The material doesn’t have relevance. Students demand the same customization and relevance in their lessons in order for information to make an impact. However, one lesson does not fit all. A topic’s “relevance” is defined differently by different student populations.
Spring break is coming to an end and that’s a sure sign summer vacation will be here before we know it. When students go on summer vacation it is important for them to be mentally challenged. Why? Students who aren’t engaged in learning activities don’t  retain information learned during the school year and often start the following year behind their counterparts who do grow their brains in the summer.
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“Obamacare.” Trayvon Martin. Facebook privacy lawsuits. Your students are probably familiar with the names and phrases born of our current events, but have they been given the opportunity to discuss them? Do they have questions about what “Obamacare” is? Or, do they already have an opinion?
The phrase “education reform” doesn’t usually conjure positive feelings, however, emerging research can make thinking about the new possibilities exciting. We live in a time of fundamental change with research that should influence the decisions we make on how to move away from the past and move forward into the future. Neurological research is one area that is taking us beyond simply teaching and learning and showing us the how behind teaching and learning to develop the most effective practices.
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In yesterday’s blog, I quoted stats from the article “How Corporations Are Helping to Solve the Education Crisis” that show 80% of the jobs created over the next decade will require mastery of technology, math, and science. More jobs are welcome in our economy, however, there is worry that there won’t be a skilled enough workforce to takeover these jobs. Students’ mastery of STEM subjects is not as impressive as the growth of STEM jobs, and both educators and corporations have a responsibility to make sure students are receiving the education to benefit from the job creation.
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One-quarter of high school students drop out every year. Of the students who do graduate, two-fifths leave underprepared for college or career and fifty-seven percent leave not having mastered remedial math, according to a recent Fast Company article.  These statistics are tragic, but anymore, they aren’t shocking. Today, there is a fight for better institutions, educators, leaders, technology, funding, parents, and students. The article goes on to share some statistics that show why the fight is more important than ever.
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It’s not news that many people have been required to make financial sacrifices and adjustments to get through the recession. The spike in library usage is a strong reflection of how the new American consumer of goods and information behaves. Even though more people are using the library as a resource, public libraries aren’t safe from funding cuts. However, libraries across the country are doing anything but backing down.
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We have many dreams for today’s students. We want to ensure they get an education that prepares them for a successful career. We want them to have all the latest technology. We want them to use technology to become a new generation of innovators and creative thinkers. We want them to have the best teachers. We want a system that values learning, not memorization.
Many people have many different ideas for how education can be reformed, but they all have one thing in common: they they all require funding.