I had a rare evening out with a dear friend recently: dinner, followed by a concert. As we walked from the parking lot toward the auditorium, she was bemoaning the omnipresence of YA (Young Adult) literature in the reading diets of a number of college-age students she knows. (My friend, an educator at an independent school, is often visited by former students.) It’s not that […]
Some days, I think I am a very slow learner. Today is one such day. Today is also a day when a whole lot of things I’ve been thinking about have collided in a supernova of insight. In a recent blog post, I mentioned the idea (of a scholar/writer whose name eludes me) that teachers need to become public intellectuals. I’ve been thinking about what […]
This week, I spent an afternoon in a “good” high school. I was there to show the English department some tech tools they could bring into their teaching. The afternoon started with the usual stop at the front desk to sign in. At this school though, they don’t don’t just look at your license, they take it. The young woman at the desk earnestly explained […]
Vicki Davis, author of the Cool Cat Teacher blog, gives a great explanation in a recent blog post. Now, good teachers can be coaches and not use Web 2.0 tools, however, if you are using Web 2.0 in the classroom you HAVE to be a coach. Web 2.0 or not, I wish more teachers were coaches.