You’re going to hear from your teenager’s school a lot during the middle and high school years. Some of the communication will be good news, some will be no-so-great news, and most of it will be pedestrian PTA-meeting type stuff. But sometimes you get that call. The one where you find out another parent called the school to complain about your teen’s behavior. No parent wants that call, but it

What is Place-Based Education? Parents, teachers, school leaders, and public policy makers have their hands full keeping up with the latest trends in education. It’s a complex process. First, creative thinkers propose new ideas for better serving our students. Second, teachers apply these theoretical models in the classroom. Third, school leaders learn about the success or failure of these new approaches from teachers. Next, they compare reports against class grades

Every Child Has a Story One thing teachers learn very quickly when they step into the classroom is that every child under their care has a slightly different approach to learning. While many students respond well to traditional teaching methods, others don’t. Although sensitive and creative teachers have always found fresh and interesting ways to bring academic material to their students, research in the 1980s led to a general rethinking

Charter Schools: A Viable Option for Families  As most parents know, education is the key to getting ahead in life. Whether that means taking an accelerated academic path that involves college, graduate school and pursuing a professional occupation, taking a vocational path that involves learning a skill and pursuing a technical occupation, or finishing high school and striking off to start a business or join a company and get on-the-job

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.