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None dare call it 'behaviour'
Students in Australia report "shocking levels of classroom disruption in international surveys," and schools face "a worsening teacher...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 6, 20231 min read
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Schools spend $20 billion a year for equity training, but does it work?
Public schools spend billions on equity training, but have no idea what works, writes Katherine Reynolds Lewis in USA Today. "None of the...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 25, 20232 min read
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Sympathy for the disruptor
A student walks into class 10 minutes late and yells, "What's up, bitches?" What's a teacher to do? To cope with a rising tide of student...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 1, 20233 min read
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Houston school plan: No disruptive kids in class -- and no librarians
Teachers will earn more and have "apprentices" and aides to handle mundane chores. They'll use scripted curricula instead of spending...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 31, 20232 min read
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Chaos: I tried to teach for America, and I failed
"Too many teachers mistake the generally sound advice to not provide a stand off with a student during class with "don't assert authority...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 18, 20233 min read
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Denver principal fired after criticizing safety policies
In March, a Denver high school student shot and injured two deans who were searching him for weapons. The student, who had a prior...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 18, 20232 min read
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Out-of-control students, overwhelmed teachers
Student misbehavior is driving teachers crazy -- and out of teaching write Leslie Bienen, a health policy consultant, and Christina...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 5, 20232 min read
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Students don't learn more from a same-race teacher
Elementary students don't learn more from a teacher who matches them in race or ethnicity, concludes a new study. There is little...

Joanne Jacobs
May 19, 20232 min read
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School of bullies
Sometimes students misbehave -- not because their needs haven't been met or their teachers aren't sufficiently sensitive to their culture...

Joanne Jacobs
May 18, 20232 min read
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My students are 'broken kids I cannot fix'
Teachers on Reddit are sharing horror stories of their students' emotional, social and academic melt downs, screen addictions and apathy....

Joanne Jacobs
May 18, 20232 min read
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Cellphone bans spread: 'This has got to stop'
Schools across the country are banning cell phones in hopes of reducing distractions and refocusing students on academics, writes Donna...

Joanne Jacobs
May 12, 20232 min read
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'Restorative' backlash: Legislators propose tougher school discipline
Legislators are "moving to make it easier to kick disruptive students out of school" in response to "a pandemic-era surge in school gun...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 2, 20232 min read
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Conservative teachers are quiet
Teachers who are on the political right "speak in whispers behind closed doors," says Daniel Buck in an interview with Rick Hess....

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 22, 20232 min read
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Ukrainian refugee girl flees unsafe San Francisco school
Yana and her mother fled Ukraine and found a new home with an aunt in San Francisco -- until the 13-year-old girl started Marina Middle...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 22, 20233 min read
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Teachers are quitting because of classroom chaos
Soft discipline policies make teachers' jobs much harder, writes Daniel Buck, who's taught in a variety of schools. A friend quit after...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 10, 20231 min read
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Teachers are angry about shooting, but not shocked
"A 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot and wounded his first-grade teacher constantly cursed at staff and teachers, tried to whip students...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 10, 20232 min read
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Teacher: Students are learning they don't need to show up or do the work
No-consequences attendance policies have encouraged students to skip class, teacher Loren Green told the Albany, New York school board....

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 30, 20232 min read
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Unsafe at school
Angry teachers in Newport News, Virginia blame lax discipline for a 6-year-old shooting his first-grade teacher, write Ben Finley and...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 30, 20232 min read
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Tolerating misbehavior undercuts learning
A six-year-old boy shot and nearly killed his first-grade teacher at a Newport News, Virginia school last week. The teacher was...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 11, 20232 min read
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Akron teachers threaten strike over school safety
"We as educators are being asked to accept more and more violent language, violent assaults, violent behaviors from our students and we...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 5, 20232 min read
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