education

The Power of We: In The Memory of Malala Yousafzai [On Thinking Globally] #BAD12

October 15, 2012 Jose

Have you ever felt like the things you do in the classroom connect to some other, higher purpose? Sometimes. When I read about stories like Malala Yousafzai’s, it puts everything I do in the classroom in its proper perspective. For those of you who are unaware, Malala’s shown up in the news recently after Taliban [...]

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AP: Jay-Z Signs Math Educator Jovan Miles to Roc Nation

October 8, 2012 Jose

Somewhere in the future … For the casual music fans, it’s easy to see why one might get confused looking at the initial Roc Nation artists. Jay-Z. J-Cole. Jay Electronica. The trifecta of J’s (and Willow Smith) have had their share of success either from the underground circuit to the international stage (in varying degrees). [...]

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We Can Do Better Than “Wrong” [Future of Teaching]

October 3, 2012 Mr. Vilson

Excerpt: As a teacher, I have a few ways to say “that’s wrong” without actually saying it. The point isn’t to sanitize the class or soften the critique. For students, they often see the word “wrong” as a gateway to devaluing their own potential, as if their wrong answer determines their competency in the subject. [...]

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On Talking Teachers Down Off That Ledge [A True PLC]

October 2, 2012 Mr. Vilson

“I‘ve had it up to here with them. They just … oooohhhh …” She sobbed. I sat there in my classroom hoping to decompress from another long day with my sixth grade homeroom class when she walked in, needing a colleagues’ ear. “You think you’re coming in to teach. You plan, grade papers, and plan [...]

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The Examiner Examines … Me (On Writing about Education) [Why We Write]

September 27, 2012 Jose

Recently, Wendy Coakley-Thompson interviewed me for the Washington, DC Publishing Industry Examiner about education, writing, and how my passions intersect: 2. In what ways do both poetry and education writings satisfy your need for creative self-expression? Poetry satisfies my more creative urges, where I get to play with the more ethereal, the emotional, the wedges [...]

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Teachers Teach and Do The World Good [Why We Write Series]

September 25, 2012 Mr. Vilson

My lunch period usually consists of a walk around the way with a strawberry-banana-mango protein shake and a baked empanada, enough to hold me over until five o’clock dinner, usually uninterrupted by the passersby, especially not a former student yelling my name for the entire neighborhood to hear. “Oh my God, is that who I [...]

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Arizona Bars Children From Learning About Themselves (The Librotraficante) [Why We Write Series]

September 24, 2012 Jose

What Luis Rodriguez makes evident in the following excerpt from the preface of Always Running is our responsibility to speak to the injustices of the world from the lens of a common struggle. Check: Criminality in this country is a class issue. Many of those warehoused in overcrowded prisons can be properly called “criminals of [...]

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Rarely Use The Word “Wrong” And Other Helpful Bits [Edutopia]

September 20, 2012 Mr. Vilson

An excerpt from my latest at Edutopia: 1) Rarely Use the Word “Wrong” Students need to know that you’re not going to press a buzzer every time they make a comment or ask a question, no matter how ridiculous. Starting the year off by accepting their errors and misgivings means that you get to know [...]

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Commit To Everything And All Things At Once (Or Rebel) [Future of Teaching]

September 17, 2012 Mr. Vilson

An excerpt from my latest: It might be the best description of the first week of faculty meetings for schools nationwide. The Common Core State Standards (and multiple intelligences, the workshop model, and the host of other initiatives I’ve seen) have brought along their own set of pseudo-experts coming in to tell teachers what to [...]

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Teaching Another 180

September 6, 2012 Mr. Vilson

Last night: Honestly, I’m nervous again. I know the routines, too. Sleep tight. Groom well. Come in with a tie. Introduce myself and the class I’m teaching. Announce names. Give out contact cards. Discuss the syllabus. Hope you don’t have a lot of time left over at the end. Leave without too much fanfare. Yet, [...]

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