Good classroom management is one of the most important goals teachers strive to establish from the first day of class. The rules, procedures, activities, and behaviors set the classroom tone throughout the school year. By revising, updating, and systemizing classroom management activities, teachers can eliminate many problems created by students…

College students living at or below the poverty line often have difficult choices to make: buy groceries, pay rent, or purchase textbooks. To Eric Frank, cofounder of Flat World Knowledge, this is not really a choice. When it comes to eating or buying a textbook, most will choose to eat. According to Frank, the biggest barrier to learning on scale…

One way to create more class time and not lose education time is to have students take notes at home and do the work in class. This article describes "flipping the classroom," a new instructional model that allows an educator to record a lesson plan on video in the same fashion it would be presented to students. The structure of the…

There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to community college. The general population appears to believe that because the tuition per credit hour is incredibly cheaper than that of the average university, students are receiving a "discounted," "cheap," "rip-off" education. Top community college students struggle against the mistaken…

The best way to eliminate grade inflation is to take professors out of the grading process: Replace them with professional evaluators who never meet students and don't worry that students will punish harsh grades with poor reviews. That's the argument made by leaders of Western Governors University, which has hired 300 adjunct professors who do…

Education is an amazingly rewarding career, and the author cannot imagine doing anything else. He stresses that being able to influence so many lives is a reward beyond compare. Teachers can make a profound difference in the future of this nation and the world, and they should respect what an exalted and exhilarating honor that is. They are…

It's no surprise that, 28 years after the publication of "A Nation at Risk," school-reform efforts have generated so little effect. The nation's schools have proven, over the past century, adept at resisting change. Recent attempts to inject accountability and innovation have brought an important opportunity. No Child Left Behind helped…

Backers of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) based their support on the belief that teachers and administrators primarily were responsible for low levels of achievement by America's poor. But this one-sided view is both inadequate and unsupported by the evidence. The author argues that harsh social policies and the pernicious effects of poverty are more…

School board members, administrators, and parents like to think of children as hard working and honest in their academic endeavors. According to recent surveys, that's a misperception. Rutgers Management Education Center reports 75% of the 4,500 high school students surveyed engaged in serious cheating and 88% judged cheating to be "common" among…

Author stresses legislation to completely eliminate corporal punishment in schools. (GB)

According to new research by the London-based consumer group Which? (www.which.co.uk), a computer's keyboard may be harboring the kinds of bugs that can cause a nasty case of food poisoning. "The main cause of a bug-infested keyboard is eating at one's desk," according to a report released by the group. Crumbs and spills can wind up on and between…

Kindergarten has changed radically in the last two decades in ways that few Americans are aware of. Children now spend far more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. The implications of these radical changes in early…

Author, a vice-principal of a racially troubled high school, describes means by which administration, teachers, and students worked to eliminate black-white tensions. (SP)

Too often, bullying goes undetected as victims suffer silently. Most anti-bullying programs must be strengthened to reduce or eliminate the quiet, sneaky bullying falling under adults' radar. Thus, there is a need to create a safe environment for children both above and below that radar. In this article, the author discusses the importance of…

In this article, the author points out that conflicts could be avoided if people took the time to define what they meant before they began to speak. This would eliminate some of the miscommunication that so often occurs in school settings. Yet, she stresses that misunderstandings do occur, even when someone feels that he or she has been perfectly…