Time to Relax?

Anyone who works in the field of education knows how all-encompassing the job can be during the school year. We finally reach the summer months and really need some time for self-care, family, and personal projects. But once we have spent a few weeks on those things, we can really take advantage of the freedom of summer to invest in the upcoming school year. The more time you put into planning during the summer, the smoother your year can be. Instead of worrying about prep all the time, you can focus on the individual students and all of the other tasks, such as grading and meetings, which can’t be done in advance.

One great idea is to look through all of the materials you have used in the past year, and think about whether you would want to use them again. You might decide that something is worth keeping but could use a little tweaking or updating. By making the necessary changes in the summer, you will be sure that it is ready to be handed out whenever you need it. If it is a game or an activity that requires prep such as cutting or dividing up supplies, you can do all of that in advance to save time during the year. You might even go as far as making photocopies of sets of handouts so they are literally ready at a moment’s notice.

In addition to deciding what you want to keep and tweak, and what you would prefer not to use again, the summer is a great time to test out new ideas. The constant innovation in STEM education and all of the STEM and maker-space furniture and accessories that go along with it forces teachers to stay on their toes if they want to keep their subjects relevant. But you can’t just walk into a classroom on the first day of school and start using new furniture and materials. Any experienced teacher knows that you need to try out anything new yourself before you can guide students who are trying it. The summer is a great time to test out new furniture and materials and experiment with them. You may come up with some great new ideas, or learn to anticipate certain challenges before they arise.

No matter what your subject area is, the summer is also an ideal opportunity for revising and planning projects. Just writing up the instructions for a project can take a lot of time, as can planning out all of the smaller steps and scaffolding that will take place before reaching the final product. Sometimes in the midst of a project, it can be quite challenging to make adjustments, and keep up with the worksheets and instructions that are needed to reach a successful result. As Andrew Miller suggests in the article I linked to above, the summer is the perfect time to go through projects you have used in the past and tweak them. Because projects require a lot of foresight and planning in terms of time management and breaking down the different components, taking care of all of these things way before you need them can be a huge advantage.

Aside from thinking about the content of your lessons and projects, you should also focus on planning the physical space of your classroom. Did you like the layout last year? Is there anything you would like to change about it? Check all of your furniture and make sure that the classroom chairs, school desks, bookshelves and computers are in working order. If there are things that are missing or broken, you want to make sure to have them fixed or ordered well in advance of needing them on the first day of school. In addition to the furniture you already have in the classroom, you can look into what’s new and exciting for the upcoming year. Even if you have a limited budget (or none at all) for new furniture, you can apply for grants and contests that might allow you to take advantage of innovative products.

Obviously, educators need a break, and I am not suggesting that we should be spending all summer thinking about school. However, I do think that by setting aside some time to consider certain aspects of the coming year, we can go into the school year excited, energized, and better prepared than ever before.

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Since it opened in 2013, Rancho Mirage High School, near Palm Springs, California, has never used bells. An audio recording of a rattlesnake, which is the school mascot, can be heard in the hallways at the beginning of the school day, the end of lunch, and when school is over. The rest of the day, students rely on their personal cell phones and watches to keep track of time. Indeed, getting rid of school bells is a growing trend that has been sweeping American schools. But just because it sounds trendy and new, doesn’t mean it is the right choice for everyone.

The Pavlovian response that students have to hearing a traditional school bell is well known by anyone who has ever been to school. You are in the middle of playing a game outside or eating lunch with some friends, and then some obnoxious bell sounds, and the dread sinks in. The fun is over, time to go back to work. Even the end of a lesson is less enjoyable because the sound that students hear is the same as that which begins the lesson.

Bells aren’t just tied into an emotional response, they can also create challenges at the end of a lesson. They stop a teacher in the middle of a very important sentence, whether that is announcing the material for next week’s test or answering the question of a curious or confused student. School bells have also been known to stop students mid project, while they are engaged in meaningful collaboration. Once the sound is heard, students lose their motivation, and the thought process is interrupted. No matter what they are in the middle of, whether a sentence, math problem or project, students will jump up immediately at the sound of a bell, because they know the countdown has begun. Soon the break will be over and the next class will begin.

Some educators have raised the concern that students will not be able to keep track of time and tardiness will increase. However, schools that have already done away with bells say that this actually lowers the percentage of tardiness, because it encourages students to learn independent time-management skills. At Justin-Siena, a catholic high school near Napa, California tardiness has dropped 30% since they stopped having a bell last year.

We should trust students to take responsibility for being on time, because that is what is expected of them in the real world. All high school students have cell phones, which they can use to keep track of time during breaks. Colleges and jobs do not have bells to tell students when class is over, or when it is time to move from one task to the other, and yet most people manage to show up on time. The earlier we teach students to take responsibility for their time, the better equipped they will be for life in the real world.

Time management and general responsibility are great skills to develop in high school. By eliminating bells, and thereby helping students learn how to come on time, without relying on anyone else, we are helping prepare them for the future, and life in general.

What are your thoughts on eliminating school bells? Should they be eliminated altogether, or just adjusted? What has your experience been with or without bells? Please share your response in the comments below.

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Meet the teachers who truly stand out as some of the most effective and inspiring educators from across the country in our Teacher of the Year Infographic – 2017!

Don’t miss our Teacher Of The Year 2017 Blog post! Get more details about these 6 educators plus one outstanding principal!

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It takes a lot of creativity, dedication and love to be chosen as a teacher of the year. In a sense, every teacher that has inspired students, made them feel that they matter every day, and helped them attain some real academic progress, is worthy of this title. It was not an easy task, given all of the exceptional candidates, but these teachers of the year -2017 really stand out as some of the most effective and inspiring educators from across the country.

Don’t Miss Our Teacher Of The Year Infographic!

1. The Language of Song

Bilingual Music teacher Sara Quintanar is helping young students gain confidence and language skills through her original music. She worked her way up from being a volunteer music teacher to a member of the faculty at Franklin Magnet School in Glendale, California. Starting with simple songs in Spanish, Ms. Quintanar’s music as gained popularity fast. She has written a bilingual songbook, and is looking forward to continuing to teach Spanish to elementary school students in the coming years. “You never forget the songs they sing to you,” she said.

2. Rookie of the year

James Sutter is a real pioneer in science education. A former environmental scientists and geologist, Mr. Sutter retrained to become a teacher through a Woodrow Wilson teaching fellowship at Ohio University. He made it his mission to educate the students in his rural Ohio school about climate change. With a true hands-on approach, Mr. Sutter gave the students first-hand experience of climate change, through the exploration of its effects on their immediate surroundings. Despite facing real opposition within the classroom, he persisted, even choosing special materials that specifically related to his students, and showing a high level of care for them as individuals. Being a good teacher means showing your students that your material matters, and that is exactly what Mr. Sutter is trying to do. His creativity and consideration for the individual, along with a real commitment to his subject matter make Mr. Sutter a stellar educator. In addition to all of the amazing programming he has integrated into the classroom, he also runs the school’s science club and is the Quizbowl team advisor. We can’t wait to see what he accomplishes as he continues to develop his craft.

3. Advocating for Technology in the Classrooms and Empowering Digital Educators

Rafranz Davis is the Executive Director of Professional and Digital Learning for the Lufkin Independent School District in rural Texas. She started out as a middle-school math teacher, and quickly realized that technology could be a great boon for her students. She became an advocate for bringing technology into the classroom, and making sure that teachers are a part of decisions about technology in their schools. In her current role, she created a corps of teacher ambassadors in her district, who provide feedback about how current initiatives are working and bring new ideas. Ms. Davis also takes time to engage and work with students, so she can gauge their level of digital literacy and figure out the best tools to help them advance. As a Google Certified Innovator and a Microsoft Innovative Education Expert, she is a sought-after speaker at EdTech events all over the country, yet she still dedicates her time to empowering the next generation of digital educators and innovators right at home.

4. Real Life Wall Street Experience In the Classroom

Instructor Peter Clark runs the Butler Tech Financial Services Honors Program at Northwest High School in Colerian Township, Ohio. With almost 15 years of experience as an investment banker, Mr. Clark brings real Wall Street experience into the classroom. His students study important topics such as business law, accounting, real estate and risk-management, and even earn free college credits in the process. He was a pioneer in his persistence to help his students earn college credits for their college-level work in high school. He also encourages his students to give back to the community, by teaching financial literacy to elementary-school students and staffing the Knights Credit Union, a collaboration between Northwest Local Schools and Cincinnati Police Federal Credit Union, which promotes financial education and assists students with banking transactions. Mr. Clark is a true role model to his students, because he chose to transform a successful career in business into an opportunity to empower the next generation with financial literacy.

5. Taking to Instagram

Being an exceptional educator isn’t just about what you do in the classroom. As the Seattle State Senate deliberated over the education budget, graphic arts teacher Alex Snyder took to Instagram, advocating for his students by posting pictures of his students with profiles @portraitsofthefuture, with the goal of showing that the students are our future, and schools need more and better funding. He made sure that public school students were seen as individual, real people and not just part of a statistic. In creating his own unique online advocacy, he didn’t just stand up for his students, he also taught them a powerful lesson about how social media can be used to stand up for your rights.

6. Diversity in the Media Center

It turns out that you don’t need to be a traditional classroom teacher to be teacher of the year. Kathleen Rauth is a Media Specialist for Indianapolis Public Schools. She has been teaching in urban public schools for 30 years. She makes sure to bring diverse reading materials into her media centers, so every child can relate, no matter what background they are from. She really listens to students, to help them find books that will really speak to them. Rauth is so popular with her students, that some choose to stay after school to spend extra time with her.

Honorable Mention

A true leader.  While great teachers can make a huge impact on their own, having the right guidance from talented administrators makes their potential for success even greater. Principal Eric Bethel, of Turner Elementary School in Washington, DC knows how to inspire teachers to educate some of the nation’s poorest students. Even potential teachers can tell how enthusiastic and committed he is to giving his students the best shot at success. But Bethel isn’t just a man of words, he has the results to prove that his methods are working. He has been able to retain fresh young talent, increased enrollment by over 30%, and guided his faculty to give his students the education they need, with the percentage of students reading at or above grade level rising by 37% in a few short years. His “infectious excitement,” and “commitment to working closely with [teachers] to turn the school around” have become a recipe for astounding success.

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When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a “peanut free school”, at least as far as I knew. I had a few friends who carried around Epipens, and I remember learning how to use one at the staff orientation for a camp that I worked at. Things have certainly changed in the past two decades. Now the country is full of peanut free schools, camps and play areas. It’s great that public spaces are trying to accommodate the needs of all children. However, the real question is whether any of this makes a real difference in the lives of children with severe allergies.

While it is certainly a responsible idea to keep allergens away from children who could potentially be harmed by them, food allergies are not limited to peanuts. I know plenty of children with severe allergies to certain kinds of fruits, does that mean that their schools should ban all kids from bringing those fruits? Why should the children with peanut allergies get better accommodations than children with all of the other allergies out there? It is obviously impossible to completely remove anything that even one child in the school might be allergic to from the premises, but it also doesn’t really make sense in that case to only “favor” one kind of allergy, when there can be many others that are just as severe.

In addition to the rising popularity of peanut free schools, there is also an increased number of schools offering gluten free school lunch. The number of children who no longer eat gluten is increasing rapidly. In the case of gluten, it is often not an allergy per se, but rather a sensitivity, or a health preference. While offering gluten free school lunch is laudable, the same question arises as to whether this is fair to people who have other sensitivities or health preferences. Additionally, if making lunches gluten free across the board causes an increase in cost, or the amount of time it takes to prepare lunches, I’m not sure it’s fair to assume that the school district, or all of the parents should be expected to absorb the costs.

It seems that the best way to accommodate allergies and sensitivities is by giving options. There is no proof  that peanut-free schools see a lower incidence of allergic reactions, but it does seem that having peanut-free tables within a school makes a difference. Now, I am not suggesting that we isolate the students with allergies. That seems cruel and unnecessary. However, perhaps a school can request for a specific class that has a child with a peanut allergy in it, to only bring peanut free foods, so their lunch table will effectively become peanut free. And the same could go for any other severe food allergy.

In general, any sort of baking project or anything that involves the students handling food should be arranged with sensitivity to the needs of all the individuals in the class. No matter what combination of allergies there is in your particular group of students, there should be a way for everyone to participate safely, even if that means adjusting the recipe. It is also of utmost importance to ensure that all utensils, bowls and baking pans have been properly cleaned in advance to avoid contact with residue from substances that could be dangerous to some students.

When it comes to protecting students with severe allergies, the school community needs to be both proactive and reactive. Encouraging the allergic student, or one of their parents, to explain to the class why it is important for them to be careful, and how to look out for warning signs of an allergic reaction in their classmate is extremely important. All students should know what the proper procedure is in the event of a severe reaction from their peer in school.

Even though the likelihood of a child dying from contact with an allergen is very small, the trauma and injury they can suffer from having a severe reaction in school is significant. There is a large range of possible reactions, including severe digestive problems, itching and closing of airways, and there is no reason any student should ever have to experience these, if we can help it.

I am opposed to the idea of peanut free schools because I think they create a false sense of security, and that they favor one type of allergy over the others. However, I do think it is of utmost importance to accommodate the allergic students in our class to the best of our abilities. While we can’t protect them from everything, we can teach them and their peers to be vigilant and sensitive, important life skills we can all afford to develop.

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Do you have nostalgic memories of running around the school yard, chasing after friends? Well, it looks like kids from Gold Ridge Elementary school in Folsom, California won’t be sharing those experiences. On a Friday in March, Principal David Frankel sent a message to parents stating that “students were instructed that physical contact during tag games, touch football, etc. were not allowed on the yard.” The ban on tag and other games involving physical contact raises a very important question. While the question is a complicated one, banning tag does seem a bit extreme.

Gold Ridge Elementary is not the first school to take such drastic steps. In 2015, public schools on Mercer Island, Washington banned tag as well, with a “hands off” policy. Parents took to social media to protest the new rules. Mother Melissa Neher started the facebook page “Support Tag At Recess”, which boasted over 400 members at its height. In the case of Mercer Island, the school district quickly reinstated tag at recess, under pressure from many parents.

What is so horrible about tag? If you remember playing as a child, you know that kids chase each other around, with one person who is “it” trying to catch the other children. Some educators feel that the physical contact involved might be inappropriate for children, or that tagging can easily evolve into pushing and other more violent forms of contact.

While it may be true that sometimes even simple playground games can get a little rough, banning tag seems a bit over the top. When it comes down to it, tag really encourages kids to run around and get out some energy. With all of the time kids spend staring at screens, including tablets and smart-boards in the classroom, recess is such a great opportunity to encourage active play. Many of the most popular sports involve some sort of physical contact, because that is part of what makes games fun and competitive. Banning any games which involve even light touching discourages kids from being active at recess, and sends a message that we don’t trust them to learn the difference between friendly touch in the context of a game, and violence or other forms of unwanted touch.

What is great about tag, unlike many classic sports, is that there is no limitation on how many kids can participate. That makes it a rare game in which everyone can be included. How can educators take away such a wonderful opportunity for an unlimited amount of students to play, get active and have fun together?

Of course children need to learn when and how touch is appropriate, and when it is not. But rather than banning a beloved game in fear of a blurry line, educators should use such games as an opportunity to open up the conversation about the line between play, aggression and unwanted touch. I think we can all agree that that is a conversation worth having.

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While browsing a local website dedicated to job listings, I recently came across an ad recruiting high-quality, college-level writing. When I clicked on the link, I found myself on a website dedicated to “helping” college students write academic papers. At first glance, the original posting looked like a legitimate job, but when I followed the links, it became all too clear that the website was dedicated to recruiting people who would write college-level papers for other people, rather than really tutoring and helping students write on their own. My experience is just one of a myriad of examples of how cheating is evolving in the age of the internet.

Of course, as long as school has been around, cheating has existed, but the ease and versatility involved today are simply astounding. A friend once bragged to me that her boyfriend would simply E-mail her assignments when he had an essay test to complete in class, and she would complete the assignments and send them back in real-time for him to submit by the end of the lesson. That simply could not happen before internet, laptops and mobile devices were so readily available. Whereas students used to have to find creative ways to scribble answers and formulas onto their hands, desks or inconspicuous pieces of paper, today they can have the world at their fingertips by simply sneaking a mobile device into an exam.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to cheating via the internet. In the past students might need a friend to copy from, or someone they knew who was willing to complete an assignment for them. Today, they can access unlimited resources online when they need to get an assignment done quickly. Websites like Studypool allow anyone to access help for any kind of question from tutors who will bid to win their business. This sounds like a great idea for a student who is stuck at four in the morning the night before a test, but it also offers a whole new route to cheating.

On-demand tutoring websites offer great incentives for tutors who want to make money in their free time and for students who don’t have the resources to hire a professional in their area. However, it also puts the tutors at the mercy of the students, as popularity is usually related to ratings. Tutors have complained that clients give them low ratings when they won’t agree to cheat for them. Once a tutor has negative ratings, it is obviously harder for them to generate business, so the tutors have reason to cooperate with cheating clients. This is a big problem for the online tutoring industry, as well as the classroom teachers. With the increasing popularity of online submissions, for all sorts of assignments, on any level, it is even easier for a student to recruit someone who will not only do their homework for them, but also submit the assignment with almost no effort or input from the actual student. That is a truly frightening scenario.

So how can we ensure that students are really doing their own homework, writing their own essays and solving the equations? We can’t. But there are plenty of creative ways to ensure that at least part of the work is done by the person whose name appears on the top of the paper. First of all, in addition to giving graded assignments as homework, educators can give in-class assignments, which are completed in a device-free setting. Oral presentations are another idea which requires students to take an active role in the assignment. Specifically requesting handwritten submissions, which show drafts or steps in the completion of a problem is another possible solution. There is no perfect way to ensure that there is never any cheating, but all of these suggestions can at least ensure that students are taking some ownership of their work.

What has your experience been with online tutoring websites? How can we prevent or at least discourage cheating in the age of the internet? Please leave your responses in the comments below.

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In a world where click-bait rules supreme and anyone can publish what they want, it is downright difficult to separate the truth from fiction. The internet is full of people manipulating the truth to serve their own agendas, at best. At worst, there are those who are deliberately lying to sensationalize people or events. If, as adults, it is difficult for us to know where to get reliable information, and when stories are blown out of proportion, how can we possibly expect our students to beat these challenges? If educators don’t make information literacy a priority, we run the risk of allowing precious minds to be contaminated unknowingly with all manner of falsehood and lies.

In his song “Waiting on the World to Change,” John Mayer says “when they own the information, oh they can bend it all they want,” referring to news broadcasts on TV. According to the song, this is one of the reasons we need to wait for the world to change. And change it has. When this song was released ten years ago, no one could have imagined just how much information can be bent when everyone owns it. Rather than news sources becoming more truthful and presenting information accurately, private citizens are taking matters into their own hands, publishing unchecked and false information all over the internet, where impressionable minds will absorb and believe it.

Facebook is one of the main tools that fake news sites use to spread false information. Clicking “share” is all too easy when you see a catchy headline. In fact, the overwhelming majority of articles shared on Facebook were never even read by the people who shared them . At the same time, Facebook is afraid of using filters because the site has been accused in the past of biased filtering practices.

The recent US presidential election is what really brought out this issue. People were so excited by the extreme statements of President-Elect Donald J. Trump, that many were publishing false or exaggerated statements of his to gain clicks and traffic on their sites. This is a big problem for today’s students who don’t go to credible publications to find out what is going on in the world. Rather, our students are relying on social media to help them stay informed. With all of the fake news out there, that is a frightening thought.

So what is an educator to do? By making information literacy a top priority, we can hope to help our students stay informed and discerning when it comes to news. We can teach them to distinguish credible sites from private blogs and rants by bringing all of the sources into our lessons and pointing out the differences. We can also teach them to double-check when they read information online, before they go ahead and formulate opinions based on what they have read. In general, by teaching our students not to believe everything they read, we will be giving them one of the most important life lessons for the 21st century.

Of course, teachers of virtually any subject can work on information literacy, especially when it comes to research projects and current events. Another option is to go through the school librarian, and create a required course where students really delve into the matter and learn how to approach and weed out fake news. Librarians are supposed to teach students how to “locate and evaluate information”. That responsibility means something entirely different today than it ever has in the past. Librarian Julie Danielson believes that information literacy is exactly what this responsibility entails for today’s school librarians.

No matter how you slice it, if we really want to prepare our students for the 21st century, we absolutely must include information literacy in the curriculum. Whether it comes from the school librarian or history teacher, administrators should be making sure that no student graduates high school without learning how to weed out fake news and determine credibility. If we don’t invest in information literacy, we simply have too much to lose.

What steps has your school taken to promote information literacy? How do you approach the challenge of fake news in the classroom?

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Whether you are in your first year as an administrator or you have decades of experience, it’s always a good idea to periodically take a few moments and reflect on the effectiveness of your performance. These 7 tips for the successful school principal will help you stay focused, set goals and create a manageable workload so you can serve your students, parents and faculty in the best way possible.

1. Delegate and Trust Your Staff.

Don’t be the go-to person every time a student is late for class or misses a homework assignment. Do be present and available when serious discipline and safety issues arise. Empower teachers to manage their relationships with parents and students, and to approach other support staff such as department chairs, the school psychologist and the vice principal(s) when they are in need of a consultation or assistance. Teachers need support and people to bounce ideas off of, but you don’t need to be the one they reach out to on a daily basis. 

2. Keep Open Communication

While you don’t want to know about every absence, you do need to make it clear to your faculty and staff that you are available to them when more serious issues arise. Sometimes they will be reluctant to tell you the truth for fear of appearing to be disloyal to colleagues or students. By surrounding yourself with confident and capable teacher leaders, you can ensure that important information gets to you, even if teachers and students themselves are reluctant to share directly. These leaders can help you keep a handle on the pulse of the faculty, as teachers often share things with each other and other faculty members that they may not be comfortable sharing with the principal first hand. If a teacher has a problem or a concern regarding a teacher leader or direct supervisor, it should be clear to them that you are available and open to discussions about such challenges. 

3. Be Confident and Consistent

Follow through on everything you say, including promises and punishments. Whether you are talking to teachers, parents or students, your word is worth more than you can imagine. When everyone knows that you stand by your promises, you will get a reputation for being consistent and reliable. Everyone appreciates and respects consistency. It creates trust. Students and teachers need to know what to expect in school, and being consistent in your decisions will go further than you would think. 

4. Keep a Balance Of Warmth and Distance

It might be nice to feel like you have a close personal relationship with teachers, but ultimately they will appreciate having someone to look up to more than another work buddy. You want to be approachable, so people will come to you when they need to, but no so much so that executive decisions become personal ones. Some principals will hang out in the teachers room during breaks to maintain a constant presence, while others consider this to be unprofessional. Every principal should make a conscious decision about this. The teachers’ room is your faculty’s safe space, and you may choose to be a part of that, but if you do make that choice, it could come at the expense of your professional distance or make teachers feel like you don’t trust them. 

5. Get Organized and Stay On Top Of Things

Keep a record of all meetings and communications whether they are with teachers, students, parents or  the school district. Make sure that any agreements you have are clear and in writing. Don’t allow anything to pile up on your desk. When you have a neat and organized office, everything will run more smoothly. People respect order and consistency. Organization makes you dependable and exudes professionalism. 

6. Keep To A Strict Schedule

Make sure that all of your meetings start and end on time. Everyone wants to feel like their time is valued, so you don’t want anyone waiting around because you are running late. In situations where you are not in control of timing, try to leave some open hours after a scheduled event or meeting in case it runs late. It’s always better to end up with a bit of extra time than to insult anyone by missing a meeting. 

7. Show Your Human Side

Principals are often expected to be superhuman, but let’s face it, they aren’t. Without compromising on your values, principles or position, you can still create real connections with students, teachers and parents. You can smile and make jokes when appropriate. You can share some carefully-chosen personal anecdotes or details. By showing that you are a real person in additional to being a principal, you make yourself relatable and like-able. You have to bring yourself to the job or you won’t get anywhere. 

By making deliberate choices about leadership style, goals and ideals, a principal can set him or herself up for success. No matter how experienced an administrator you are, take the time to evaluate your performance in each of these 7 areas and make note of both your strengths and the areas you need to work on. (it’s always good to try new things and work on your professional relationships. The more you put into doing your job in the best way possible,) The more you work on improving your professional relationships, the better chance you have of being a truly successful principal and the educational leader that your students and teachers need.

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Hertz Furniture is proud to present the Designing The Ideal Classroom Infographic detailing what today’s educators think our classrooms should and should not look like.  We surveyed a cross- section of educators including school principals, ed tech specialists, consultants, designers, and administrators.  They responded to questions about the most important components of a classroom, what ideal classrooms should and should not look like, what color scheme the ideal classroom would incorporate and more.

If you haven’t already participated, take our survey now!

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