Baby Boomer teachers are rapidly retiring and being replaced by members of Generation Y or “Millennials” who hold very different beliefs about the workplace and the way principals work with them. Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share ideas to help them thrive.
Difficult Topics / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/09/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
As teens respond en masse to the Netflix series Thirteen Reasons Why, the story of a girl who chooses suicide, Mary Tarashuk considers how difficult topics can be part of learning for her 4th graders and how their read-alouds and personal writing can build empathy.
Relating to Students / The Flexible Classroom
by Amber Chandler · Published 04/23/2017 · Last modified 11/29/2019
Fresh from her middle school’s Falcon Pride Day, Amber Chandler celebrates the joy of a pre-Spring Break event that’s one part competition, one part team building, and one part controlled chaos, noting that kids’ SEL needs are at least as important as curriculum.
Jennie Magiera urges teachers to launch edventures, pursuing innovations that boost student engagement, build class culture, differentiate, promote digital citizenship and more. Laura Von Staden also likes Magiera’s plentiful ideas about professional learning.
Now’s the time to empower middle grades girls with understanding of their own STEM skills, strengths, and potential. Anne Jolly recommends hands-on problem solving, teamwork, and critical thinking to pave the way for success in engineering, life sciences and more.
While reviewer Rita Platt agrees with the authors’ sincere hope that classroom redesign can strengthen learning, she finds the book falls short of being helpful to teachers in their everyday quest to make their classrooms warmer, smarter, and better.
In Tapping the Power of Personalized Learning, James Rickbaugh supports school leaders as they share the how-to’s and the why’s with staff. Instructional coach Debbie Parker thinks teachers can also benefit by gaining more understanding about implementation.
Ariel Sacks says teachers who read The Flexible ELA Classroom will get to know “an enthusiastic, skilled teacher” effectively applying “many of the best current teaching trends.” Amber Chandler’s practical, student centered ideas include flexible differentiation, PBL infusion, family involvement and more.
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 02/09/2017 · Last modified 11/15/2019
Arguing that empathy is composed of teachable habits that can be practiced and developed, Michele Borba offers parents and teachers many tools to help children grow in their awareness of the needs of others. Mary Thompson finds the age-aligned ideas helpful.
Imagine an intentional, coordinated schoolwide work ethics program that’s consistent across subjects and grade levels. What a difference that could make now and in the future, says STEM expert Anne Jolly, who shares the key traits and how to begin to grow them.
