Teaching Tips Tuesdays!
I’m trying out a new idea of having you, my talented readers, share tips with other educators, psychologists, and parents about ways you’ve had success in teaching kids. It can be as little as a new way to teach multiplication facts, what to do in the last 10 minutes of class, how you motivate your […]
Why I Am Going to the Inauguration
It’s no secret that I embrace our new president for the role he can play in providing hope to urban youth. I recently wrote about why I am going to DC for the inauguration for a piece on NPR’s California Report. Skip ahead to 18:00 (or about halfway on the toolbar) on the streaming audio […]
Role Models
I love bad movies. I find them to be so relaxing because I know exactly what will happen in the end. Once you get the “boy-meets girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl back” formula, you can just relax and watch the predictable nonsense ensue. I always turn to my movie-goer friend during romantic comedies and sarcastically ask, “I […]
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!
You know what is lacking in urban schools sometimes? Happy people. Now I recently discovered that happiness is contagious and I would really like some people at work to get infected with a serious case. I entered one of my schools to find that someone had gotten all festive on me and put up holiday […]
Works for Me Wednesday: Making Studying Fun
Hi Moms from “Rocks in My Dryer!” I have just discovered your “Works for Me” links and I hope you’ll enjoy a few tips from a school psychologist on how to make studying for a test with your child more fun. These two links are geared for teachers, but are easily adapted to homework sessions […]
Obama on Climate Control
My fiancé and I have a tradition of watching Meet The Press every Sunday to catch up on the state of our nation.* It is mandatory that I have at least one cup of coffee in hand prior to activating the TiVo. The TiVo is necessary for when we want to pause to jump in […]
OJ is Going to Jail
You are thinking: “How is OJ Simpson’s latest pending incarceration possibly related to educational psychology?” WELL. This is a full-service blog, people! As I picked up my morning paper today, I saw that OJ was going to jail for 9 years and I smiled, not because I particularly enjoy when ex-athletes get incarcerated, but because […]
Study Skill O’ The Week: Dingers!
Back in the 20th century, when I was in high school, I had this social studies teacher who would give away all the test answers the day before the test in a game called “Dingers.” We would line up in two groups and when it was your turn, you sat face to face with a […]
My Kingdom for a Printer
I’ve been following the saga of Mrs. Mimi, and her battle for basic needs in her school, such as a parking spot, in My Kingdom for a Parking Space. While hers takes the cake for wackness in education, I have to report that it’s pathetic that I can’t get a working printer in the public […]
Giving Thanks
Judge each day not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant…[anonymous] As I’m trying to collect stories about The Teachable Moment*, I have noticed a trend. First, the teachers I know say, “What a great idea!” and then, “Um, I don’t have any teachable moments.” “Sure you do!” I exclaim, and then they […]
