To Teach Effective Writing, Model Effective Writing

I can’t overstate the importance of effective modeling in helping me become an amazing skier. Effective modeling is also how I learned to write well. I spent equal time and effort actually watching other, more experienced writers write….read more

Do Educators Really Need Blog Posts?

Way back in the 20th century when a collaborative-spirited administrator would come across a helpful article in an education journal about some new methodology or pedagogy, he or she would share it with the faculty — if possible….read more

30 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad

While I like to think I know a little about business writing, I often fall into a few word traps. For example, “who” and “whom.” I rarely use “whom” when I should. Even when spell check suggests “whom,” I think it sounds pretentious. So I don’t use it. Fair or unfair, using one wrong word can negatively impact your entire message….read more

Social Media Literacy: The Five Key Concepts

Online digital technology has empowered users in ways that were unimaginable twenty years ago. Social media sites have given us the ability to reach a global audience, and have increased the average user’s means to persuade and influence. We are no longer just consumers of media, but content creators and distributors, as well as editors, opinion makers, and journalists. So how can we create a media literacy framework that takes into account our power and participation in the media?…read more

Myths That Undermine Educational Effectiveness

Certain widely-shared myths and lies about education are destructive for all of us as educators, and destructive for our educational institutions. I want to focus on eight of the myths that I think are relevant to most teachers, administrators, and parents….read more

13 Awesomely Terrible Homework Excuses

It happens to all of us at one point or another. It’s time for class and the homework is just not finished. Best policy: Apologize and make the work up as soon as possible. But what do many of us do, instead? Offer a lengthy and hopefully sympathetic explanation. Here are 13 of the most atrocious excuses from students and parents as reported by teachers on the We Are Teachers Facebook page….read more