By Dr. Jon Eckert The four-year-old boy was recovering from a seizure on a pad on the floor of the pre-kindergarten classroom. He had braces on both legs, looked like he weighed about 30 pounds, and had a tiny wheel chair parked next to him. He was making a small noise and making eye contact with his teacher. She walked to him, scooped him up, held him close as she told me, “Sometimes he just […]
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Through the Lens of Eternity
By Jami Courson Virtual learning revealed to the world what educators have known for decades: teacher-student relationships matter. Research shows that student achievement increases and questionable behavior decreases when students believe that their teacher cares for them. As Dr. Jon Eckert writes in his book Just Teaching, “We have learned that being present and in relationship matters for each student. Learning in person increases student morale and student achievement. Having teachers who care improves student […]
What To Do When You’re Not Loving It
By Meredith Frey The McDonald’s arches beam bright as I drive to school, beautifully framed in front of the rising sunshine. I wonder to myself, like the McDonald’s slogan, what do I do when I am not loving it? What do I do when teaching becomes hard, and I am already thinking about heading home during my drive to work. What do I do when my heart yearns to be back in my cozy bed, […]
A F.E.W. Just Words
By Bing Parks A RAP LESSON My students’ favorite music genre is rap. We will analyze the messages in rap lyrics and discuss the impact of the rapper’s diction. Sometimes the students wonder why we are spending so much time on the lyrics and ask if they could just listen to the song and move on. They argue that they are just words, after all. So, one day I told them I was the best […]
Replace Yourself: The surprising call that K-12 school leaders and fraternity guys have in common
I was in a fraternity in college. Yes, I’m aware that in 2023 that statement comes with a lot of baggage. However, for all the beauty – fellowship, service, and philanthropy – and the real brokenness I witnessed in Greek life, my fraternity was my first, authentic classroom for leadership lessons, and no experience was more instructive than recruitment. The recruitment process, also known as “Rush,” may be the most revealing undertaking of any fraternity […]