It had been a long, hot and muggy Chicago summer. I was the principal of a private school that had decided to move to a new building, and I had spent countless hours over that summer overseeing the move. Unfortunately, I was not the only one whose summer was significantly disrupted. Each teacher was busy boxing his or her classroom materials, a task that could not commence until school had let out. It was a tedious job that did not do much to enhance teacher morale.

There was, however, a silver lining in the cloud of discontent. Our new school building boasted an expansive parking lot which would afford ample space for staff to park close to the building. Anyone who has lived through a Chicago winter knows that those extra few minutes from car to building can truly make a difference.

You can only imagine my shock and dismay when on September 1^st the school board chairman informed me that teachers would not have access to the parking spaces closest to the building. Those spots, I was told, were reserved for the parent body, our most important resource. My objections fell on deaf ears. The board chairman reasoned that this was no different than the mall down the block, which mandated its employees to park far from the building entrance, reserving choice spots for paying customers. That January I resigned and became headmaster of a school in a city whose climate (both inside and outside) was much warmer.

I recently was invited to take part in a board meeting where a school budget ‘crisis’ was solved by increasing teaching loads. “Cutting the fat” and “sweating the resources” were the terms used. Over my strong objections, the motion passed. The school has since never been the same.

To this day I am consistently dumbfounded by boards that do not realize where their most important resource lies: in front of the classroom. School budget cuts frequently result in slashing teacher benefits without realizing the demoralizing effect this has on the staff and how this impacts the entire educational enterprise. Teaching is not the same as working at the mall, and ‘sweating the resources’ may work at a factory, but in a school it only nets you sweaty teachers. And no one likes sweaty teachers.

What’s most interesting is that it’s not necessarily about the money; it’s about teacher appreciation. Teachers need to feel valued; a parking spot in front of the school is one example. It’s about school leadership caring about teachers and looking for ways to show just how important they are. It’s about a genuine “How are you?” truly joyous “Happy Birthday!” or a short note saying, “Thanks for all you do.” None of the above costs a penny.

There is a statistic I read which reports that half of those who enter the teaching profession leave within five years. As the school year ends there will be thousands of educators contemplating fulfillment in other capacities. While there are many reasons people seek a change of profession, school leaders must make sure that they have not contributed to this disturbing trend. I would strongly suggest that board heads park far away from the school building and use the time spent walking to think about how they can best appreciate a teacher today.

Video blogger Kate Cohen presents STEM Education Q & A! Learn everything you need to know about the hot educational trend and why corporations are backing STEM literacy to promote STEM jobs! Watch the video now!

Is STEM education being supported in your school? How can we improve STEM education? Share your ideas in the comments!

Teacher development is a year-round affair – even during the summer months when you’re kicking back and enjoying some well-deserved time off. I always got a kick out of students who had that special calendar at the back of their notebooks. As June rolled around, they would start counting the days until the end of the year. They would sheepishly smile when I noticed the big black X’s they marked at the end of each day. I always wondered what they would say if they knew about the calendar teachers were keeping.

Whether in the back of their day-planners or in the back of their minds, teachers were also marking off the days. The only difference was that many teachers had actually worked it out down to the hour! Summer vacation is not meant only for kids.

The importance of professional development for teachers notwithstanding, those of us who have spent time in the classroom understand why. Good teachers invest every ounce of their energy into the children they teach. While many cannot understand why teachers require such long vacations, they simply have never spent time in front of a room full of students. The summer months are a critical time for teachers to recharge their depleted batteries.

What I find interesting, however, is how quickly we miss the classroom. The truth is that many teachers simply thrive on the thrill of teaching and are nurtured by the incredible opportunity that educating young minds provides. My wife always marveled at the fact that in over thirty years of teaching and administrating, I was truly blessed to almost never miss a day. However, by the first week of summer vacation, I was sick in bed. There was no doubt in my mind that the classroom kept me healthy.

How does one balance the need for vacation with the need for teacher growth and stimulation?

A year ago, in a blog entitled ‘What I Did on My Summer Vacation,’ I wrote of a mistake teachers frequently make. I argued that for many, if not most, relaxation does not result in recharged batteries. If one were to remove the battery from an appliance, the battery would not recharge itself; it would simply discharge at a slower rate. (I have heard that putting batteries in the refrigerator significantly slows the rate of discharge, but I would not suggest this for most teachers.) In order to recharge a battery, it must be connected to a power source.

Teachers are no different. While some ‘down time’ is recommended, ‘powering up’ is a must. Using the summer months for professional development and to learn something new is the only way to begin the next school year fresh and rejuvenated. For example, use the time to acquaint yourself with some of the latest technologies that might excite your classroom come September. Learning technology can be frustrating (can be?) when stressed by the demands of overloaded teaching schedules, but it is fun and truly enlightening when we have the time to discover the endless benefits technology offers. Find something, anything that will help you grow as a teacher (try to get your school to pay for it!), plug into it, and start recharging just as the last X is finally marked on your calendar.

Video Blogger Kate Cohen discusses test anxiety which affects students, parents, educators now more than ever before.

Research shows that stress can play a beneficial role in competition including high stakes tests. Kate gives test taking tips for educators on how to best deal with test anxiety and use it to your advantage.

Have you found any other strategies that work well for you and your classroom with regard to test anxiety? We’d love to hear from you!

Hertz Furniture is proud to present this infographic representing how classroom design, including classroom layout and ergonomic furniture, affects student learning.  Learn more about how flexible classroom design, ergonomic classroom furniture and environmental factors affect student behavior in this info-graphic.

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<p style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/classroom_design1-508×1024.jpg” target=”_blank”><img title=”Classroom Design” src=”http://www.hertzfurniture.com/school-matters/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/classroom_design1-508×1024.jpg” alt=”Classroom Design” width=”525″ height=”700″ border=”0″ /></a></p><br /> <p>

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I scanned the article with only passing interest until I saw his name¹. It was one of those ‘home town boy makes good’ features about a California native son, who had fashioned a brilliant business plan to save an area hospital and whose beneficence had significantly impacted his entire community. When I saw the name Sam Davis attached to this wealthy benefactor, I almost fainted.

I had taught Sam Davis!

If Sam had been one of my ‘A’ students, with a quick mind, sharp intellect or driven personality, I would have hardly been surprised. In fact, if Sam had shown academic achievement in any area at all, I would have nodded in agreement at all the accolades showered upon him (and maybe even taken a bit of credit for the upstanding citizen Sam had become). But the truth was quite different. The only thing that ever seemed to interest Sam was recess and lunch on Tuesday when they served hot dogs. You never want to give up hope on your students and their abilities, but with Sam I came precariously close to singing him off. At times, I felt that I would be preparing him for his future if I could teach him to say, “Sir, how would you like your fries?”

But, evidently, I was very wrong. Some time after (barely) graduating high school something changed and Sam became an incredible success story. I am not sure how or why, but it did set me to thinking. While obviously Sam was absorbing more than I gave him credit for, in the end result, I as an educator must pause and reflect on how I missed seeing the talent this student possessed and ask: What does success in school mean and is academic success a teacher’s primary objective?

While there are many lessons to be learned, I would like to share two that struck me as the most compelling.

Firstly, we must constantly remind ourselves that success in life will not necessarily be defined by success in the classroom. This is not meant in any way to diminish the importance of what we do as teachers, but to point out that we are only one piece of what fashions the outstanding citizen of tomorrow. As educators we often become a bit too fixated on the task (or standards) placed before us and we forget that life exists and indeed thrives outside the context of our curricula.

Secondly, we should make a point of seeking out the many ‘Sams’ who are out there and investigate what we could have done during their years in our classrooms to have made them as productive, creative, and motivated as they seem to have become. It should interest us to know what exactly are the ‘other’ skills – which we did not teach – which also contribute to outstanding achievement and also define success? What can we do to engage the kid in the back of the classroom, who might turn out to be the magnate who will someday be called upon to save our community? There might be a ‘Sam’ back there who is set up for failure by a system that does not recognize his unique talents and therefore does nothing to enhance those abilities.

Ultimately, the story of Sam teaches us to broaden our notions of student achievement and to never ignore the wealth of potential found in every pupil. So here’s to you, kid in the back of the class; keep up the great work you do when you leave the classroom. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of seeing the surprise on my face.

Socrates was not talking about public school education when he declared, “The unexamined life is not worth living”. However, as we mark National Charter Schools Week, Socrates words become as relevant today as they were more than two thousand years ago.

I think of the above quote as national attention is focused this week on the benefit of charter schools. As is always the case, arguments – good arguments – are heard at either end of the ongoing debate. Are charter schools the answer to what ails the public school system, or a misguided attempt at undermining the foundations of public education in western society?

There are school districts around the United States in which charter schools have significantly enhanced the education of thousands of students, providing enriched curriculum and creative programming which have positively impacted both the depth and breadth of learning. The quality of education offered in many charter schools rivals that of private schools, opening up a new world of opportunity to many who cannot afford the exorbitant tuitions of private academies.

At the same time, non-charter public schools in many of these very same districts suffer. Charter schools may draw away vital resources, thus improving their education at the expense of area public schools. In addition, standardized test scores do not necessarily bear out the claims made by charter school educators. There are those who look at the growing evidence and conclude that good schools are not defined along the charter or non-charter divide, but by other factors, such as good administrators, professional and caring teachers, and school cultures that motivate students to excel.

The debate will rage on for years. Like all such issues, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. But during this week, we must credit the charter school movement for one incredibly important achievement: They made us re-examine that which we do. They have made sure that we will not live the unexamined life.

The charter schools have made us look anew at public school education. Do we keep teachers for too long? Are our standards of education as high as they can be? Do we demand the same excellence from our institution as we demand from other professionals? Are we being as creative in our classrooms as we can be? Have we become lazy and complacent, robbing our students of the excellence in education they deserve? These questions need to be asked, discussed, debated and seriously addressed.

Thank you charter schools for pushing us all. Thank you for not simply looking at the state of public education and asking, “Why?”, but rather for dreaming of what could be and asking, “Why not?” Maybe you do not have it right just yet; perhaps the real solutions to the problems plaguing our schools are found elsewhere. But it is only through the dedicated efforts of those who aspire towards excellence that our children will attain the bright future they so richly deserve.

Hertz Furniture is proud to recognize Charter Schools during National Charters School Week and all year long with our many contests, programs and partnerships with Charter School Associations.  Our Charter School Association of the Month highlights one outstanding Charter School Association each and every month. 

Let’s talk about teacher appreciation! Teacher Appreciation Week is May 6th to May 10th 2013 and Teacher Appreciation Day is May 7th.  Are you ready to say thank you and recognize the hard working, fantastic teachers in your life?  Watch the video and find out Kate’s ideas on the best way to do so!

Share your best teacher gift and teacher recognition ideas in the comments!

 Unfortunately, the walk from the hospital to the school was a short one. It left me little time to consider what I was going to say to my students and how I was going to talk to kids about death. How was I going to tell them that the mother of one of their classmates had just passed away? These sixth graders had shared the pain of their close friend over the months of his mother’s debilitating illness and now were going to have to deal with the terrible and tragic loss

This past week’s twin tragedies, in Boston and Texas, reminded me of how difficult it is for students to cope with tragedy and how challenging it is for teachers to know what to say to students when disaster strikes. The same uncertainty that plagued me that day many years ago challenged teachers across America as they sought to do the right thing. Teachers frequently have as little time as I did to prepare themselves to face their student’s tear-streaked faces. How should a teacher respond and help students dealing with disaster?

My first thought was that I am simply not prepared for all this. I was sure that the school would call in mental health professionals who were trained in crisis counseling and who could help the students through this difficult time. Each student’s pastor, priest or rabbi could speak with their respective congregants to console and guide them. Their parents would be there once they got home and would find soothing words that would ease their sense of mourning. So I, their teacher, should just be strong. I should ignore the storm of emotions buffeting my soul and save my crying for after the bell had rung. After all, I teach math and science; grief counseling is not my responsibility.

“But,” I asked myself, “is it really true?” It occurred to me that a teacher is no less than the student’s window to the world. Even though the professionals would all do their jobs well, it was going to be me that the students would look to, to do what I had done all year: teach them how to understand the world around them. Pain, suffering, grief and loss are all part of that world and I must help them understand this part of their lives as well.

So, I did the best I could. I walked into the classroom and grieved with the students. I shared with them my feelings, my fears, and my reasons for hope. I explained to them the cycle of life, my strategies for dealing with loss, and we discussed how one deals with life’s defeats, both large and small. We all talked for a long time, focusing not only on the loss but also on how we were going to help the young boy, their classmate, who would now go through life without his beloved mother. We mourned together today, but we also planned what we were going to do tomorrow.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the day, I felt that for at least that day, I had been a good teacher. I had provided a model of behavior which they could call upon to help weather the storms that are part and parcel of life itself and I learned something about how to talk to kids about death. On that tragic day, I had made a difference.

What are the advantages of teaching kids to code? Millions watched the viral video on code.org trying to convince the younger generation to learn to code. But is the reason to learn coding to get a high powered job where you sit around in a beautiful office, making tons of money and eating fancy free food or to learn problem solving skills and perseverance? Watch the video and find out!