Category: classroom

Idaho School District Votes to Ban LGBT Politics From Classrooms

An Idaho school district voted to ban classroom discussions on gender identity this week in the latest battle by conservatives to keep left-wing sexual ideology out of the schools. The Nampa School District in Idaho will prohibit discussions or lessons on gender identity, transgenderism, and sexual orientation in the classroom. The past few years have…


‘Defamation of a Beloved Teacher’: Community Backs Teacher Who Was Charged With Assaulting Students

Support is growing for a 62-year-old teacher who was charged with physically attacking a student in a high school classroom in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). Footage emerged on social media on Tuesday showing Michael John Kable, a Maitland Grossmann High School teacher, and a student tossing scrunched-up paper balls at each other….


‘Defamation of a Beloved Teacher’: Community Backs Teacher Charged With Assaulting Student

Support is growing for a 62-year-old teacher who was charged with physically attacking a student in a high school classroom in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). Footage emerged on social media on Tuesday showing Michael John Kable, a Maitland Grossmann High School teacher, and a student tossing scrunched-up paper balls at each other….


Michael Zwaagstra: Useless Classroom Fads Turn Students Into Guinea Pigs

Commentary Does your classroom promote a growth mindset? Are you sufficiently “learner-centred” and do you take your students’ individual learning styles into account? These are the kinds of questions teachers are often asked by their administrators. In fact, some teachers, particularly those just starting their careers, find themselves under considerable pressure to give the “right”…


How Incorporating Pets in the Classroom Can Offer Lessons on Responsibility and Encourage Student Participation

Early in my classroom career, I had a student. Let’s call her Susan. School had been in session for about a month, and a guest teacher came to my room to relieve me. She told me I was wanted in the conference room for a meeting. I walked into that meeting blind, not knowing who…


How Helping Kids Build a Strong Sense of Community Can Improve Their Confidence and Learning

Have you heard the term “branding yourself?” It’s a new term being used by young entrepreneurs and being exploited by young millennials. The new trend is to brand yourself. Give yourself a logo, pictures of yourself that portray yourself a specific way, a motto, and most importantly, a website that uses specific colors and all…


Chicago Teachers Union Polling Members Over Strike or ‘Shift to Remote Learning’

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is polling its members on whether they would back a city-wide strike or a shift to remote learning, citing the surge of the Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, as students are set to return to the classroom on Jan. 3. All CTU members were asked to…


Pennsylvania Teacher Threatens to Kill After COVID-19 Barrier Removed: Police Report

A York County Pennsylvania teacher has been charged with terroristic threats for allegedly threatening to kill people after a plastic barrier to protect from COVID-19 was removed from his classroom. Sinking Spring Elementary School teacher Chad Gerrick, 50, erected a plastic barrier in his classroom as protection from COVID-19 but the school maintenance department removed…


Once Upon a Time in a Classic Classroom

My 6-year-old granddaughter Maria is a first-grader this year. At this writing, and I pray it continues, her classes are in-person. Her kindergarten days were primarily spent in front of a computer due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. She and I recently spent a delightful time shopping. It was a “grandmother date,” and together we chose…


Let’s Focus on Classrooms, Not Consultants

Commentary The COVID-19 pandemic is nearly behind us, and it’s about time, too. Hopefully when the school year begins in September, all K-12 students will be back in school on a full-time basis. There are a lot of things that we don’t need to see again. Mandatory masks, remote learning, hybrid classrooms, and “quadmester” timetables…