Learning

In our shrinking world of globalization and problems associated with different languages, the European Union commissioners have announced that an agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications—rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, the British government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as Euro-English.

In the first year, “s” will be used instead of the soft “c.” Sertainly, sivil servants will resieve this news with joy. Also, the hard “c” will be replased with “k.” Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters kan have one less letter.

There will be … >>>

“For those teachers and school leaders who want to get serious about improving student achievement, this book will be very helpful. Its attention to classroom management skills, motivating students, and establishing a positive relationship with students are key ingredients to ensuring that students aspire to great things starting with academic accomplishment.”

—Gordon Cawelti, Educational Research Service and Former Executive Director,
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)

A descriptive table of contents, three selected sections, and additional items of interest are posted online.

Any school in the United States can receive the book at no charge for each teacher by completing the application.… >>>

A few comments by the renowned educator about the education book :

“The strategies that Dr. Marshall describes for developing humane, responsive, and responsible classrooms are grounded in research AND good practice. They link classroom management concerns to the more fundamental issues of how teachers can create powerful curriculum, teaching, learning, and lasting motivation. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to create a ‘right to learn’ in all classrooms.”
—Linda Darling-Hammond, Ed.D., Professor of Education,  Stanford University,
Author of THE RIGHT TO LEARN, and Director, National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future… >>>

I had the pleasure of visiting the CNN headquarters and studio in Atlanta, Georgia. The broadcasting company owns CNN, CNN Headline News (which repeats headlines every 30 minutes), CNN Financial News, a channel that broadcasts in English to other continents, a channel that broadcasts in Spanish, and TNT (Turner Network Television) that broadcasts new and older motion pictures films from the film studio archives that Ted Turner had purchased.

The company has four broadcast locations: headquarters in Atlanta, political broadcasts from Washington, D.C., financial broadcasts from New York, and entertainment broadcasts, such as Larry King from Los Angeles.

I found the most interesting part of the CNN tour to be how the weather is projected and how the teleprompter is … >>>

Using standardized tests to  measure educational progress is contrary to the purpose of such tests.

Educational leaders have been and are still basing their decisions about learning on the use of such tests, and it is having disastrous results.

This is exemplified by third graders, especially conscientious ones, having anxiety attacks and by the surge of high school students giving up and just dropping out of school.

In the future, people will look back and ask, “How could we have been so foolish as to allow this to occur?” How could we justify using standardized tests (where half the test takers automatically fall below 50%) as an accountability instrument? How did we justify determining people’s successes or failures solely on … >>>

Business is a a poor model for learning.

Business is competitive and competition improves performance in athletics, music competitions, and other activities where people are motivated to improve and win. However, competition between individuals is devastating for improving learning.

Government, business, and educational leaders have based their decisions about learning on this faulty reasoning, which already is having disastrous results as exemplified by young conscientious students having anxiety attacks and the surge of high school students giving up and just dropping out of school.

Competition improves performance but is devastating to those who are never in the winner’s circle.

Collaboration—not competition—improves learning.

People will look back twenty years from now (if not sooner) and ask, “How could we have been … >>>

Although mastering subject matter is important, strategies to increase thinking power are equally important. 

Schooling today emphasizes “correct” answers and single solutions. But in so many situations, it is not how many correct answers one knows, but rather how one proceeds when one does NOT know—as when confronted with problems, dilemmas, enigmas, and situations to be addressed, the answers to which are not immediately known or readily available.

This is becoming truer every day in the rapidly changing information age. Students often attempt to solve a problem or analyze a situation without thinking. The answer may be so obvious that they just say it.

While there are many situations that can be dealt with successfully in this way, a … >>>

QUESTION:
Why is change so difficult?

RESPONSE:
Change is not difficult; it just feels difficult because it is different from what we are accustomed to doing.

QUESTION:

QUESTION:

How do you encourage kids to do homework?

I feel like I’m constantly chasing after students to do it. I find that it’s a reflection of my teaching that they’re not putting effort into it.

RESPONSE:

In order to differentiate between EFFORT in EMPLOYMENT and EFFORT in LEARNING, I avoid the use of the word, “work.” Rather than referring to home WORK, I refer to “home assignments.”

The only reflection on your teaching should be to ask yourself whether or not the assignments are relevant, meaningful, and/or useful.

Following are some suggestions:

1. Give choices – Give more than one option for the assignments and have students choose their preference.

2. Explain that there is not enough time to … >>>

A teacher  shared a few thoughts with me.

This year is a surprise for me. I thought I had my revelation last year when  I discovered Discipline Without Stress. This year I have implemented the system from the beginning and the painful revelation this year is just how wrong I have been over the last 13 years. It is almost painful to reflect on who I used to be. I was so caught up in getting students to obey that I lost sight of the humanity of this profession. I was overpowering them rather than being flexible, understanding, and compassionate.

Here is an example: I have a student who doesn’t do his homework and who struggles in the class. … >>>

Here are some ADVANCED CONCEPTS for using the Raise Responsibility System for DISCIPLINE, for ENCOURAGEMENT, and for PROMOTING LEARNING and ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.

DISCIPLINE:
After teachers are well into the mode of ASKING students (instead of telling them) to identify a level of chosen behavior, asking for a response may seem coercive. Teachers can then shift to SUGGESTING that students SIMPLY REFLECT on their chosen level.

The hierarchy is NOT an assessment tool for someone on the outside looking in. Understand that no one can know the motivation of another person with complete accuracy, and since rewards can change motivation, rewarding Level D behavior can be counterproductive. The reward-giver will never know in the future whether the person will be … >>>

Have a discussion and elicit examples validating the following statement:

“Effort becomes a reward, not just a way to a reward.”

Have students draw from their personal experiences where exerting effort became as much if not more satisfying than being given a compliment or some tangible item.

(Note: the purpose is not to lessen the importance of external acknowledgments but rather to demonstrate that external receivings are not nearly so satisfying as exerting effort to achieve a goal or to do that which is right.)… >>>

At an International Reading Association conference, a teacher told me that her students had no motivation.

The following is my rather dense “lecture” that I shared with her. (See footnote regarding the term “dense.”)

I suggested that every student attending school is motivated; without motivation, one would not get out of bed. Whether the motivation is prompted by a situation, a stimulus, an impulse, or an urge, the person arising from bed is motivated.

If you grant me the assumption that simply by being in school there is some degree of motivation, the question then has to do with the type of motivation we are using. W. Edwards Deming—who showed the manufacturing world how to improve quality while simultaneously lowering … >>>