Education

Forward-thinking teachers, school administrators, and policy makers rarely achieve legitimate consensus on big issues in education. They stake claims on all sides of critical questions facing schools across the country. From the length of school days to which subjects are most important to the best way to prepare students for the modern workplace, competing experts present theories, statistical data, offer first-person testimony, and write persuasive reports to advocate their various

For decades, there’s been a buzz in educational circles about the positive relationship which exists between music and mathematics. Some of this research has examined the effect of listening to classical music during math lessons and before math tests. It’s unearthed positive results. This particular wrinkle in scholarship and the positive correlations identified between music and math has been labeled The Mozart Effect. However intriguing, The Mozart Effect only lasts a

The Importance of Finishing High School The National Institute for Educational Statistics reports that individuals who graduate from high school earn an average of just over forty thousand dollars a year, and individuals who do not graduate from high school earn an average of just over twenty thousand dollars a year. When looking closely at these numbers, it’s clear that the difference between finishing high school and not finishing high

For parents and kids alike, homework can be a tough nut to crack. It seems like there are two types of people in the world, with regards to homework. There are those who don’t mind it very much, and those for whom doing homework is like pulling teeth. The homework situation is complicated by the fact that it’s hard to predict a person’s attitude toward it based on their family

What’s in a Grade? One of the most challenging aspects of education lies in assessment. Whether in public school, private school, or home-school, teachers work to determine how much a student learns. Traditionally, assessment means grades. And grades are typically assigned by combining homework, projects, and tests scores into a single letter grade for each subject. Most adults are familiar with this A-F grading system, which is based on percentages.

Summer is here. Which means it’s time for parents to look back over the school year and answer an important question: Is my child in the right place? The answer to that question is different for every family, and every family has different criteria upon which they base their answer. Some families prioritize academics, some prioritize sports, and some prioritize a good social and cultural fit. The criteria get more

We got our report card last month. It didn’t come home in an intimidating, official white envelope carefully placed in our backpacks. No one had to sign it and turn it back the next day and no one hid it from their parents. No one got in trouble for poor marks, no one got a new car for getting all A’s. There were no emergency teacher-parent conferences frantically arranged to

One of the greatest challenges in education is what to do with children who don’t fit inside the box. For teachers in public or private schools and parents who home-school their children, it’s always easiest when kids perform consistently . Or at least peform within readily understandable degrees of variation across subject areas. They accomplish their assignments, projects, and tests with a measure of success that lines up with their