TeacherJay's EduBlog

Strange Currencies

teacherjay — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:13:48 +0000

I was passing through the Gen. Mitchell airport in Milwaukee the other day and had some time to kill. I noticed a sign for a museum and decided I should check it out. Very small, but still interesting and maybe a good way to occupy young children for a little while. Many exhibits seemed just [...]

A New World?

teacherjay — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:57:43 +0000

In relation to yesterday’s honor of Christopher Columbus and his “discovery” of “A New World”, I began thinking of the millions of people that were already living there. While they new it existed, their world changed with the arrival of Europeans as well. However, our history books don’t always teach us that. The video below [...]

Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction

teacherjay — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:12:32 +0000

Ralph Tyler presented a model of curriculum design in 1949 that is still the foundation of many designs used today.

Konfusing Klein

teacherjay — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:08:40 +0000

I have long been skeptical of Mr. Joel I. Klein’s qualifications for his leadership of the New York City school system, and certainly of his motives in doing so. In what seems to be a spreading epidemic, complete control of the school system was taken away from elected community school boards and usurped by Mayor [...]

The BioBus

teacherjay — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:13:41 +0000

The BioBus, a rolling science laboratory, could help to bring hands-on science education to underfunded programs. You can help the bus to keep rolling with just a few clicks.

End of the Year Reminiscing

teacherjay — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:50:53 +0000

I was recently cleaning out a box of old papers. I found some of my old report cards from when I was school and laughed at the comments. I also found some ‘thank you’ from some of the wonderful students that I taught over the years. The following is a piece from a card made [...]

Genuine Writing

teacherjay — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:36:52 +0000

...a story about a student I once taught to improve her writing skills and a question of whether or not this was truly a benefit for her...

War News Radio

teacherjay — Sun, 03 May 2009 23:21:07 +0000

The most recent issue of Harvard Educational Review contained an insightful essay about a student-run radio program at Swarthmore College that focuses on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Emily Hager, though still a junior in college, tells us of her experiences interviewing people experiencing the wars firsthand—such as refugees, and government officials—on the other [...]

Redefining Literacy (eBook Series Part 6)

teacherjay — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:47:11 +0000

With the technological advances of the 21st century does it make sense to continue teaching students with a 19th century mindset?, or do we need to update our concept of what it means to be literate in today’s world?

School (District) Size

teacherjay — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:08:40 +0000

Although conventional wisdom tells us that small schools and small districts are the best way to go, that may no always be the case. Last week, the Open Education blog posted an article on the school district consolidation taking place in Maine. I ahve experience with large and small school districts beign measured by student [...]