Student Guide Corner

During a semester, teachers do not always have enough free time available to make radical class improvements.  Consequently, as I have said often in these blog postings over the years, the summer is a fabulous time to work on the upcoming learning process.  Frequently, this advice has focused on the students.  How can you get them especially well motivated for an outstanding class in the fall?  Today, however, I want to address you as the teacher.   I want to make a suggestion for a simple experiment that I hope you will try between now and the first week of class. Creating a great educational experience is impossible unless you have a clear idea as to what success should look like.  What do you really want to happen?   �By the last day of the fall semester, I want to have a great class but I really do not know what that will look like,� is a ludicrous statement.  However, many teachers really do not know what that great class would look...

It's been too long. Can't say I'll be back with regularity but I have to share something I read this morning , eloquently written by Richard Ellenson, advocate for equality and equity for all students.  He writes from a parent's perspective and shares this: My kid is different than your kid.  He is sixteen; smart, self-aware, kind, funny, loves his friends, loves the Yankees, loves Broadway even more�. and Apple products even more than that.  He�s also in a big electric wheelchair. He can�t speak words, and instead he talks using an app on his iPad. He loves big rare steaks but needs help to eat them. When he goes on a date, someone has to accompany him. And, of course, he needs to deal with the big psychological impact of all that � which he does with amazing grace.  He�s a wonder.  But not everyone sees that. Instead, teachers are often stopped short by the more obvious manifestations of his disabilities. They don�t see his challenges; they see their ow...