The benefits of play-based learning are huge, and we shouldn’t be depriving our children of it just because they are getting older.

Are graphic novels a lesser form of writing? Parents and children often have opposing views when it comes to this unique and beautifully crafted type of literature.

In March 2020, we received a rather cryptic message from our Technology Director: “Bring your computers home during the break, just in case the situation changes.”

I recently observed a high school science lesson that left me feeling like I had just swished some super-minty Listerine. I was refreshed. I was inspired…so much so, in fact, that I built and entire upcoming PD session around my takeaway from this lesson. I will return to this in just a moment.

I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that rules without relationships lead to rebellion. Yet today, relationships with students seem to be feared instead of embraced. Over the years, quite by accident, I have discovered that this precept from days gone by is critical to classroom rules and to learning itself. Relationships are an essential part of learning, especially relationships between teachers and students.

I began the school year in a classroom with eighteen standard desks. Today, I have none. This isn’t a lament about budgetary constraints or overcrowded classrooms; it’s a deliberate choice.

When I told my fifth-grade class that they were old enough to take charge of their own learning, something unexpected happened.

It is widely accepted that digital tools and resources are vital to students’ success in the modern world. It is also widely believed that the only barrier to access is money.

It's nice to think of the Internet as a wonderful invention that has made our lives both richer and more efficient. It's a nice notion and it's an accurate one—the Internet has changed our lives for the better. We can now communicate with people from all four corners of the globe. We can share, swap, and gain as much knowledge as we could ever want or need. There are no negatives associated with instant knowledge—or are there?