If you’re anything like me, you gained a great deal of academic knowledge about your content area in college and very little actual knowledge about getting students to stay quiet long enough to learn from your abundant knowledge base. Over the years, I have observed young teachers enter the profession and make many of the same mistakes. I have … Read more
This article explores some of the history of homework and also a few homework alternatives. If you end your class with homework and you hear groans, it may be time to stop and ask why. Of course, this is nothing new and it knows no boundaries, geographically at least, from what I hear from colleagues. Homework … Read more
I want you to watch the first 3:40 of this TED Talk by Benjamin Zander Notice the Dramatic change in the piano player from 7 years old to 11 years. Huge difference. But from 8 to 10, there is seemingly no change. What’s happening is incremental change. Each year, the child improves dramatically, but it … Read more
In this article Lucas Allen, a former math educator from Illinois writes about his experience quitting teaching and the transition into the corporate world. Why I Left About 18 months ago, I quit teaching for a job in the corporate world. This wasn’t a decision I made lightly. IÂ had been a high school mathematics teacher … Read more
While I’ve had my ups and downs over the years as a teacher, my first two years were extremely challenging. Many of these pitfalls were avoidable. If I were going into a middle school band class as a first year teacher today, knowing what I know now, I would approach things differently. Here is an unsorted list that … Read more
Why don’t my students respect me? We’ve all been there at one time or another. For me, it was nearly every day during my first two years . Since then, I have grown as a teacher, but even as I look back on what I wrote in this blog eight years ago, I am struck by how differently I … Read more
I started this blog more than five years ago. I have now come to the conclusion of my 10th year of teaching. In this article and the upcoming series, I reflect on some of what I have learned in my 10 years of teaching. A reflection It strikes me that much of what I have … Read more
Many musicians fall into the incorrect assumption that the only way to make money in music is to be a famous performing artist. There are many other lucrative careers which can be pursued in the music industry. These should not be taken for granted. Music Production Music producers are responsible for coordinating all elements in … Read more
This article discusses some simple classroom management tips that teachers can immediately implement in their day-to-day teaching. Inspiring students to be motivated and engaged in the learning process is an essential part of managing a classroom. Teaching students while calmly and effectively managing disruptive behavior is a vital skill for every educator. Experimenting with new … Read more
Throughout history, teachers were making discoveries, taking actions, or participating in events that forever changed the world. Today we’ll look briefly at 8 teachers who changed history. Pythagoras was a mathematician, philosopher, and teacher who’s theories are still taught in schools. He’s best known for the Pythagorean Theorem that relates to right triangles, however, he … Read more