Avenue4Learning

I’ve been watching and reading with great interest the number of tweets and blog posts regarding standardized testing, opting out, refusing to pander, etc. The conversations with Lee Kolbert and Will Richardson were the ones to trigger my blog post. You can read their posts here: Will Richardson – A Pep Rally for Tests? What [...]

Student-centered learning. Do you know what that really looks like?   Sometimes I feel like a lazy teacher in this student-centered world at Anastasis Academy… but that’s only because the majority of my teacher training in undergraduate (and most of my graduate) classes prepared me for a TEACHER-centered classroom. You are the teacher. You are [...]

Over winter break, I saw a couple of local news segments about a teacher who had won an award for her great teaching. The phrases used to describe her: “tirelessly giving of herself” “works late nights and weekends to do whatever it takes” “selfless and saint-like” My first impression was that she must be a [...]

I need to get better at updating this blog! Hoping I can get back into the swing of things starting with a goal of weekly blogging. Perhaps I’ll get back to daily updates after the new year… but my lack of writing is not the point of this post. Lately, in education networks, I’ve noticed [...]

Sorry, Ron Clark. You don’t speak for me. Ron Clark, a Disney Teacher of the Year and Oprah’s pick for “Phenomenal Man,” wrote this article on CNN titled, “What teachers really want to tell parents.” One of the gems from this article: If we give you advice, don’t fight it. Take it, and digest it [...]

Another school year is here. New school. New students. I met some of the students from our school at a get-together last Sunday, but not all of them. I’m so looking forward to meeting them all on Monday! In a discussion earlier today with another teacher, I mentioned that, early in my teaching career, I [...]

What happens when passionate educators all over the world get together to collaborate and offer FREE professional development? The Reform SymposiumWorldwide E-Conference. I highly recommend you check the schedule and plan to attend!

My family jokes with me that attending ISTE is just an excuse for me to have a vacation with my friends. As I sit and think about that, I know that some part of it is true. Where else can I go to find 18,000 or so people who share with me many of the [...]

There are many discussions amongst world leaders, economists, business leaders, and educators about the pros and cons of competition. Some of the most spirited debates in which I’ve participated have centered around competition and students. Arguments usually include the following: [cc licensed photo by mtsofan] Students will face competition at every level of their lives. [...]

In many school district mission statements I read, the words “success” and/or “successful” often appear.  Preparing children to be successful after a PK-12 experience… what exactly does that mean? Will their education provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their world? Is that how one becomes successful? Is it about [...]