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Achievers need a chance to go faster, fly higher
"Differentiating instruction" in a class with a wide range of performance levels doesn't work for high achievers -- or anyone else.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 30, 20241 min read
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She can't read or write, but she made the honor roll and got into UConn
A former special-ed student is suing Hartford Public Schools because she wasn't taught to read or write.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 5, 20242 min read
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An 'F' for grading: Can expectations go any lower?
Grading may be stressful, writes George Leef on the Martin Center for Academic Renewal. It may deliver unwelcome news to students or...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 4, 20242 min read
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Georgetown students 'have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet'
Even elite colleges don't read very much and have trouble staying focused on books.

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 2, 20242 min read
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U.S. history teachers prefer DIY curriculum to textbooks
U.S. history teachers are using "digital sources and primary documents" rather than textbooks , according to a report by the American...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 24, 20242 min read
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Special ed is failing: With no time to meet diverse needs, teachers lower expectations
Overwhelmed by the number of students with different needs, teachers tend to lower expectations, writes veteran teacher.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 19, 20242 min read
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Poor kids can learn to read too
Overall, family poverty and reading problems go together. But some school districts are beating the odds.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 12, 20242 min read
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'Terrible awful no good very bad' advice for teachers
Chicago teachers are getting very bad advice on how to teach with AI.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 4, 20242 min read
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90% of teachers support cellphone bans
Ninety percent of teachers in a NEA survey want their schools to ban cellphones in class, and 83 percent back all-day bans.

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 3, 20242 min read
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Discovering math: How do you know 75% is more than 50%?
I Â remember when "the new math" was new. It was supposed to teach kids to understand math, not just go through the motions. I'd just...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 29, 20242 min read
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The solution to apathy is to help students learn
Learning is motivating , writes math teacher Dylan Kane on Five Twelve Thirteen. Many schools are modifying the curriculum to cater to...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 29, 20241 min read
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Teaching the election: It's not a crusade
Social studies teachers are eager to discuss the election -- students might actually care! -- but also very nervous about...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 14, 20243 min read
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Most grades don't match test scores: Is that a problem?
Most grades don't match students' test scores, according to the Equitable Grading Project.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 13, 20242 min read
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'Mad minutes' don't cause math anxiety -- and kids learn more
New research shows timed math tests don't worsen math anxiety.

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 9, 20242 min read
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Only the education-rich can afford laissez-faire schools
Monogamy is "outdated," Troubled author Rob Henderson's Yale classmate told him. She's been raised in a stable, two-parent family and...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 1, 20242 min read
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Can Mike Miles remake Houston schools?
Houston's radically redesigned elementary and middle schools posted higher math and reading scores in nearly every grade level in the...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 22, 20243 min read
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'Learn to joke,' say teens who faked teacher TikToks with sex, pedophilia
Middle school is the worst. Kids hit puberty and turn deeply stupid for a few years before they learn to handle it. Even so, the seventh...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 7, 20242 min read
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Teachers don't have time to be therapists, cops, nurses and social workers
“Students who are habitually ungovernable should be removed from teachers’ classrooms so teachers can actually teach and students can...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 1, 20242 min read
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NYC mandates 'Illustrative Math'
New York City high schools are adopting the same algebra curriculum in hopes of closing "stark racial disparities" in math achievement,...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 25, 20242 min read
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Teachers can ignore curriculum, push their own ideology
Even when schools adopt a well-designed, balanced curriculum, many teachers will ignore the curriculum and do their own thing, writes...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 20, 20241 min read
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