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Black Boys in Crisis: “Black People Can’t Be Doctors”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. When I was in elementary school (the mid-1980’s) one of my teachers periodically brought professionals from the area to our class to talk about their careers. On one occasion, she brought in a black male doctor from a local hospital. He spoke for about fifteen minutes and then opened up the floor for questions. One of my friends (also a black male) raised his hand. “Are you …

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The Edvocate’s List of 20 Must-Follow K-12 Teacher Twitter Feeds

To say that teachers are busy would be an understatement! Besides the act of teaching, you spend hours every day and on the weekend on lesson planning and grading. But it’s also important for teachers to keep learning, and the best way to do that is from other teachers. Thanks to modern technology, it’s now easy to connect with inspirational teachers and to learn from them. We’ve curated this list of educational Twitter feeds to help you stay up-to-date on new technology, burgeoning trends, and or even just a daily dose of motivation. We have considered the following qualities in …

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Disengaged Students, Part 3: The Role of Nationalism

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The 20th century saw the rise of a new sort of anti-intellectualism in America, one stemming from a nationalist perspective. The idea that love of country trumped all other ideas and ideals was popularized during both World Wars, and exacerbated by the Communist paranoia and McCarthyism in the decades that followed. Speaking out against war or showing sympathy with …

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How companies learn what children secretly want

Faith Boninger, University of Colorado and Alex Molnar, University of Colorado If you have children, you are likely to worry about their safety – you show them safe places in your neighborhood and you teach them to watch out for lurking dangers. But you may not be aware of some online dangers to which they are exposed through their schools. There is a good chance that people and organizations you don’t know are collecting information about them while they are doing their schoolwork. And they may be using this information for purposes that you know nothing about. In the U.S. …

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Disengaged Students, Part 2: The Anti-Intellectualism of Thomas Jefferson

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. It is easy to blame the rise of anti-intellectualism on the vagaries of the digital age, but in fact anti-intellectualism has been present in America from the beginning of our national history, and its roots lie in other civilizations. The Roman Republic had anti-intellectual overtones, particularly when it came to assimilation of new cultures. Roman culture was seen as …

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Black Boys in Crisis: Why Aren’t They Reading?

pass or fail

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. Though people outside the “Black boy” demographic like to think that American K-12 schools, workplaces and courthouses are pillars of fairness, those within the grouping know better. Study after study, research report after research report, and statistic after statistic all point to a crisis among the young, Black boys of the nation – beginning in homes, stretching to K-12 educational experiences, and leading straight to the cycle …

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Disengaged Students, Part 1: How did American Anti-Intellectualism Begin?

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Americans pride themselves on their high ideals. On national holidays Americans delight in quoting phrases like “all men are created equal” and “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The ideologies of freedom of religion, democratic government, and socio-economic mobility are ingrained in American children beginning in pre-K educational settings. While these ideologies are admired from a distance, real …

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English Language Learners and Music Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

A professor shares her tuneful tips for helping ELLs learn what to expect from English. Dr. Nancy Drescher is a professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato, and has taught both children and adult English language learners (ELLs) in the U.S. and abroad. In this interview, she offers best practices for teaching these students to read, understand structure, and gain background knowledge. The Edvocate: You believe that simply teaching English vocabulary words and grammar is not the best way to go about teaching ELL students. If that’s not the best way, then what is? Dr. Nancy Drescher: When it comes …

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Want great teachers? There’s no one-size-fits-all solution

Gerald K. LeTendre, Pennsylvania State University Most of us know the difference a good teacher makes in the life of a child. Many global institutions working to improve access to education, such as the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Education International agree that “teacher quality” is the critical element in whether or not an educational system succeeds. The United Nations has even called for “allocating the best teachers to the most challenging parts of a country; and providing teachers with the right mix of government incentives to remain in the profession and ensure all children …

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How learning a new language improves tolerance

This article was written by Amy Thompson There are many benefits to knowing more than one language. For example, it has been shown that aging adults who speak more than one language have less likelihood of developing dementia. Additionally, the bilingual brain becomes better at filtering out distractions, and learning multiple languages improves creativity. Evidence also shows that learning subsequent languages is easier than learning the first foreign language. Unfortunately, not all American universities consider learning foreign languages a worthwhile investment. Why is foreign language study important at the university level? As an applied linguist, I study how learning multiple …

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