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Recognizing Rigor
Everyone is talking about rigor... but what is it? In her book Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word, Barbara R. Blackburn paints a picture of what rigor looks like in the classroom. Teaming up again with Ronald Williamson (their first collaboration was on The Principalship from A to Z), Blackburn and Williamson wrote Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way as a school-based guide on rigor. Read below for a tip from the book.
Recognizing Rigor
It’s important to reward teachers who are leading or supporting increased levels of rigor. One way to do that is to keep a pad of "Recognizing Rigor" certificates, which you can use to acknowledge a teacher’s work when conducting learning walks. We'd also recommend you encourage teachers to also use the certificates. Give each teacher a handful and keep some near teacher mailboxes in your mail room. As you model the use of the awards, promote the idea that everyone can and should recognize efforts toward increasing rigor.
Another way to build in this idea is "Name it, claim it, and explain it." As you see an example of rigorous work in a classroom, take a digital picture of what is happening. Begin each of your faculty meetings with a PowerPoint slide of what you saw. The first item on your agenda is always a celebration of something positive related to rigor. Ask your faculty, "I saw something great related to rigor this week. It's up here on the screen. If it belongs to you, stand up and and name what you did, claim it as yours, and explain what you were doing."
Regularly recognizing and celebrating positive examples of rigor will reinforce the commitment to a rigorous school and classrooms.
Click here to read sample chapters of Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way by Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn.
Download Recognizing Rigor certificates.
Recognizing Rigor
Another way to build in this idea is "Name it, claim it, and explain it." As you see an example of rigorous work in a classroom, take a digital picture of what is happening. Begin each of your faculty meetings with a PowerPoint slide of what you saw. The first item on your agenda is always a celebration of something positive related to rigor. Ask your faculty, "I saw something great related to rigor this week. It's up here on the screen. If it belongs to you, stand up and and name what you did, claim it as yours, and explain what you were doing."
Regularly recognizing and celebrating positive examples of rigor will reinforce the commitment to a rigorous school and classrooms.
Click here to read sample chapters of Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way by Ronald Williamson and Barbara R. Blackburn.
Download Recognizing Rigor certificates.
Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship
Robert Lynn Canady, an Eye On Education author and expert on school scheduling, was honored with the creation of a fellowship at the University of Virginia by his former students, colleagues, and friends. Aptly named the “Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship,” it was established in 1999 to honor his contributions to the University of Virginia and to the Curry School of Education, where he is Professor Emeritus. The fellowship is awarded every year to an undergraduate or graduate student who exhibits “enthusiasm and dedication reminiscent of Dr. Canady’s passion for teaching.”
Eye On Education would like to congratulate Sarah Oh, the 2009-2010 recipient of the Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship!
Click here to see the full list of recipients of The Curry School Foundation's awards, fellowships, and scholarships.
Click here to learn more about Robert Lynn Canady and browse his Eye On Education titles.
Eye On Education would like to congratulate Sarah Oh, the 2009-2010 recipient of the Robert Lynn Canady Fellowship!
Click here to see the full list of recipients of The Curry School Foundation's awards, fellowships, and scholarships.
Click here to learn more about Robert Lynn Canady and browse his Eye On Education titles.
The Poetry of Annette Breaux - Who's In Charge?
Eye On Education has just published a new collection of Annette Breaux's poems, 101 Poems for Teachers. The book is illustrated by L. Susan Brandt. Read below for a poem and strategy about effective classroom management.
Who’s in Charge?
She was a classroom teacher, and she didn’t use much prudence
She tried to fit in by acting and by dressing like her students
When asked just why she did this, she said, “They’ll think I’m cool”
And so they did, but not one kid respected her at school
And she couldn’t understand just what could have gone awry
They liked her but didn’t respect her. Each day, big tears she’d cry
No learning in her classroom, just foolishness all day long
She tried to undo the mess she’d wrought, the tangle of things gone wrong
It changed the day that she stopped adding “injury” to “insult”
The day she finally realized that she was the adult
And from that day she donned a most professional attire
She set clear rules and procedures—her classroom hummed like a choir
Her enthusiasm was contagious and her students were infected
And she became one of the rare ones that every child loved and respected.
(from the new book by Annette Breaux, 101 Poems for Teachers)
The secrets of effective classroom management. Remarkably, through observation, it was found that the most effective teachers’ classrooms all looked uncannily similar. And, of course, the same can be said for the less effective teachers—their classrooms all looked uncannily similar. Let’s take a look inside the less effective teachers’ classrooms first. Here is what they all had in common:
- Lessons lacked enthusiasm and excitement on the part of the teacher and, consequentially, among the students.
- The teacher did most of the talking, and the students did little listening.
- There was little, if any, evidence of structured routines and procedures.
- The teacher was reactive.
- A clear objective was usually nonexistent.
- There was little teacher movement around the room. The teacher generally stayed at the front of the room. Guess where most of the behavior problems occurred!
- The punishment for any given infraction lacked consistency. The severity of the punishment was usually in direct proportion to the teacher’s anxiety level.
- The lessons were usually “one size fits all.” Unfortunately, most fit none.
- There was little, if any, positive reinforcement.
- The teacher rarely smiled. In fact, in almost all cases, the teacher appeared to dislike teaching.
This list could go on and on, but the point is clear. So now for the good news. Here’s what was found in the classrooms of the most effective teachers: (The list below is the exact opposite of the list above.)
- Lessons were filled with enthusiasm and excitement on the part of the teacher, and, consequentially, among the students.
- The students did most of the talking and the doing, prompted by the teacher’s questioning and guidance.
- Routines and procedures were evident. Students knew exactly what was expected of them.
- The teacher was proactive.
- The objective of the lesson was always clearly established for the students.
- There was no doubt in their minds what they were learning and why they were learning it.
- There was constant teacher movement around the room. Guess what happened to behavior problems! They were almost nonexistent.
- The punishment for any given infraction was consistent.
- The teacher almost never openly showed frustration. Even in the rare case of misbehavior, the problem was handled seriously but calmly.
- The lessons’ activities were varied to meet the needs of all learners.
- There was constant positive reinforcement.
- The teacher often smiled and always appeared to actually love teaching.
So it’s really quite simple. You now have a blueprint for what an effective teacher’s classroom looks like. Make your room look like the classrooms of the most effective teachers and see what happens. Go ahead. You can do this.
(from Seven Simple Secrets: What the Best Teachers Know and Do by Annette Breaux and Todd Whitaker)
Browse books and audio CDs from Annette Breaux.
Image: © Eye On Education, Illustration by L. Susan Brandt
Human Sentences: Introducing Sentence Variation
In their book Teaching Grammar: What Really Works, Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger share procedures for teaching grammar effectively and dynamically, in ways that appeal to both students and teachers. Read below for a tip from the book that helps students put together sentences in a very visual way. This technique helps students learn sentence variation and vary sentence format with the correct grammar and punctuation. This is a fun and interactive activity that allows the students to work in groups.
Make Human Sentences
When introducing any sentence variation, such as the compound sentence, distribute sentences on strips of construction paper, along with several conjunctions and a comma. Each group of students assembles a compound sentence in front of the class, holding up the sentence strips, conjunction, and comma to notice the right and wrong placement of the comma and conjunction.
This activity has substantial impact on adults, as well as students, because its visual nature ends confusion about the punctuation of dependent and independent clauses. Participants enjoy seeing friends shift the sentence parts and punctuation marks.
Here are some suggestions for groups studying compound sentences:
Group 1: I missed the bus. I was late for school. And. So. Comma (“,”)
Group 2: Sam fell on the sidewalk. He didn’t go to the nurse. But. So. Comma.
Group 3: Maria had to baby-sit. She also had to do homework. Yet. So. Comma.
Group 4: Tomas went home after school. Had a Coke™ and some pizza. And. So. Comma. (This one does not actually use the comma because it does not have two complete ideas.)
Using Human Sentences: Teaching Semicolons
There are many ways to apply human sentences in the classroom. For example, on the first encounter with semicolons, Sara wants her students to see the placement of the semicolon at the end of the first independent clause. She asks for student volunteers who will hold up some poster-board clauses in front of the class and function as human sentences.
Two students hold clauses, another student holds up a semicolon, another has the word however, and another a comma. As they move into place, the class can see clearly the function of the semicolon and the comma: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane; however, his actions reveal his insanity." Sara asks the students to explain the function played by the semicolon and then the comma. Afterward, when Sara moves the students holding the semicolon and comma into the wrong order, class members recognize how the punctuation marks fail to function as separators of full ideas: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane, however; his actions reveal his insanity."
After the human sentence activity, the students are ready to work independently with semicolons. For homework, Sara tells her students to insert two compound sentences with semicolons into their writing samples. This time students should highlight the semicolon and comma with one color and the hitching word (however or therefore) with another.
Click here to read sample chapters from Teaching Grammar: What Really Works by Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger.
When introducing any sentence variation, such as the compound sentence, distribute sentences on strips of construction paper, along with several conjunctions and a comma. Each group of students assembles a compound sentence in front of the class, holding up the sentence strips, conjunction, and comma to notice the right and wrong placement of the comma and conjunction.
This activity has substantial impact on adults, as well as students, because its visual nature ends confusion about the punctuation of dependent and independent clauses. Participants enjoy seeing friends shift the sentence parts and punctuation marks.
Here are some suggestions for groups studying compound sentences:
Group 1: I missed the bus. I was late for school. And. So. Comma (“,”)
Group 2: Sam fell on the sidewalk. He didn’t go to the nurse. But. So. Comma.
Group 3: Maria had to baby-sit. She also had to do homework. Yet. So. Comma.
Group 4: Tomas went home after school. Had a Coke™ and some pizza. And. So. Comma. (This one does not actually use the comma because it does not have two complete ideas.)
There are many ways to apply human sentences in the classroom. For example, on the first encounter with semicolons, Sara wants her students to see the placement of the semicolon at the end of the first independent clause. She asks for student volunteers who will hold up some poster-board clauses in front of the class and function as human sentences.
Two students hold clauses, another student holds up a semicolon, another has the word however, and another a comma. As they move into place, the class can see clearly the function of the semicolon and the comma: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane; however, his actions reveal his insanity." Sara asks the students to explain the function played by the semicolon and then the comma. Afterward, when Sara moves the students holding the semicolon and comma into the wrong order, class members recognize how the punctuation marks fail to function as separators of full ideas: "Poe’s narrator claims to be sane, however; his actions reveal his insanity."
After the human sentence activity, the students are ready to work independently with semicolons. For homework, Sara tells her students to insert two compound sentences with semicolons into their writing samples. This time students should highlight the semicolon and comma with one color and the hitching word (however or therefore) with another.
Click here to read sample chapters from Teaching Grammar: What Really Works by Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger.
Quote of the Week
"If the fish keep getting sick, change the water."
-Gary Phillips
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
-Gary Phillips
*Find this quote and others like it in Great Quotes for Great Educators, compiled by Todd Whitaker and Dale Lumpa.
Mad Libs in Your Foreign Language Classroom
The book Activities, Games, and Assessment Strategies for the Foreign Language Classroom by Amy Buttner provides over 100 activities for foreign language classrooms. Read below for an effective way to use house-hold Mad Libs in your lesson plan. The students will probably have seen (or even played with) Mad Libs before and they will get excited about the opportunity to express their creativity and knowledge in a quirky way. Have a few students volunteer to read the finished Mad Libs aloud to the entire class; the students will enjoy hearing silly stories from their peers.
MAD LIBS
Objectives: Recall parts of speech and identify vocabulary to fit in various categories of speech.
Materials: Mad Libs worksheets
Activity Directions and Preparation Hints
Mad Libs help students practice parts of speech in a humorous way. You can purchase ready-made Mad Libs or create your own. Two parts are involved in creating Mad Libs. First, find or write a paragraph related to the teaching objective. Try to set up the Mad Libs so the paragraph turns out to be funny or somewhat bizarre. Then decide what parts of speech you want to highlight.
Next, remove 15 to 20 words from the paragraph you wrote or found, making a cloze activity. Replace the word with a line and write number below the line to correspond to a separate worksheet. On the separate worksheet, number it and include blanks to correspond to the numbered blanks of the cloze paragraph. Below each line write in the corresponding part of speech for the missing word. For each number on the worksheet, the student must fill in a word that fits the indicated part of speech, such as a third-person singular verb, a noun to describe a politician, a large number, a place, and so forth.
When students do the activity, first pass out the worksheet and have the students fill it in. Afterward, pass out the paragraph cloze activity and have the students transfer their words to it. Then, have them read the paragraph and see how strange or funny it turns out.
Applications and Modifications
Mad Libs have various extensions and are great for practicing the parts of speech. Ask your students to read their Mad Lib aloud to their partner and decide which is funnier. You can also ask them to answer comprehension questions about their Mad Lib. Ask students to write their own Mad Lib or a sequel to yours.
Application 1: Cultural and Content-Based Mad Libs
Materials: Mad Libs worksheets
Find or write a Mad Lib based on a cultural topic or historical figure. Try using a famous poem or excerpt from a novel your students are reading and strategically remove words for a new twist on the selection. After students have filled in the paragraph with their bizarre answers, discuss what changes would be necessary to make the paragraph true.
Sample Topics
Click to read sample chapters of Activities, Games, and Assessment Strategies for the Foreign Language Classroom by Amy Buttner.
MAD LIBS
Objectives: Recall parts of speech and identify vocabulary to fit in various categories of speech.
Materials: Mad Libs worksheets
Activity Directions and Preparation Hints
Mad Libs help students practice parts of speech in a humorous way. You can purchase ready-made Mad Libs or create your own. Two parts are involved in creating Mad Libs. First, find or write a paragraph related to the teaching objective. Try to set up the Mad Libs so the paragraph turns out to be funny or somewhat bizarre. Then decide what parts of speech you want to highlight.
Next, remove 15 to 20 words from the paragraph you wrote or found, making a cloze activity. Replace the word with a line and write number below the line to correspond to a separate worksheet. On the separate worksheet, number it and include blanks to correspond to the numbered blanks of the cloze paragraph. Below each line write in the corresponding part of speech for the missing word. For each number on the worksheet, the student must fill in a word that fits the indicated part of speech, such as a third-person singular verb, a noun to describe a politician, a large number, a place, and so forth.
When students do the activity, first pass out the worksheet and have the students fill it in. Afterward, pass out the paragraph cloze activity and have the students transfer their words to it. Then, have them read the paragraph and see how strange or funny it turns out.
Applications and Modifications
Mad Libs have various extensions and are great for practicing the parts of speech. Ask your students to read their Mad Lib aloud to their partner and decide which is funnier. You can also ask them to answer comprehension questions about their Mad Lib. Ask students to write their own Mad Lib or a sequel to yours.
Application 1: Cultural and Content-Based Mad Libs
Materials: Mad Libs worksheets
Find or write a Mad Lib based on a cultural topic or historical figure. Try using a famous poem or excerpt from a novel your students are reading and strategically remove words for a new twist on the selection. After students have filled in the paragraph with their bizarre answers, discuss what changes would be necessary to make the paragraph true.
Sample Topics
- Noun-adjective order modeling
- Noun-adjective agreement in gender and number
- Subject-verb agreement
- Any vocabulary you would like to review
- Cultural topics such as festivals, artists, historical figures, and so forth.
- Content-based vocabulary (a paragraph about a science class with content related vocabulary)
Click to read sample chapters of Activities, Games, and Assessment Strategies for the Foreign Language Classroom by Amy Buttner.
Webinars as Professional Development
Webinars as Professional Development: What do you think?
In an article for Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook by Anthony Rebora titled "Can the Web Save Professional Development?," Rebora assessed the effectiveness of current professional development activities. He wrote, “The studies and articles I reviewed stressed the need for collaboration, teacher inquiry, practical instructional tasks, relevant subject matter, and consistent follow-up.” Interestingly, all of these needs can be addressed with the help of the Internet. Even more interestingly, Rebora came up with these original guidelines six or seven years ago. It seems that the needs of “teacher-learning” activities haven’t changed dramatically in the past decade. But the internet, webinars and online seminars specifically, have helped teachers
and administrators improve professional development drastically. But are teachers and school administrators open to webinars as professional development tools?
Eye On Education conducted a survey earlier this year that asked our readers about their thoughts on webinars. When we asked, “What is your general opinion of online seminars?” Only 9% of readers said they didn’t like them. Almost 75% of the teachers and administrators said they either liked them or hadn’t yet made up their minds. 25% of readers said they preferred live webinars to recorded webinars, and over 35% said they had no preference. In consideration of professional development we asked, “Do you consider online seminars an alternative or supplement to live professional development?” An amazing 47% of teachers and administrators said they considered webinars both an alternative and supplement to professional development, depending on the webinar. Lastly, we inquired about what factor would prevent our readers from participating in a webinar. 29% of readers said it’s too expensive. Do you agree? What do you think about webinars as professional development tools in general? Leave us a comment!
Interested in Free Webinars by Eye On Education authors? Kathleen A. Foord and Jean M. Haar, authors of Professional Learning Communities: An Implementation Guide and Toolkit, presented free webinars through Minnesota State University’s College of Education. Jean’s webinar is titled “Facing Current Challenges: Leadership Matters” and focuses on the kind of leadership necessary for today’s school systems. Kathleen’s webinar is titled “Developing and Sustaining Professional Learning Communities.” The webinar addresses how to start and sustain effective professional learning communities. These webinars were originally presented live with listener participation, and are now available free as recorded sessions. Both webinars can be found here.
In an article for Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook by Anthony Rebora titled "Can the Web Save Professional Development?," Rebora assessed the effectiveness of current professional development activities. He wrote, “The studies and articles I reviewed stressed the need for collaboration, teacher inquiry, practical instructional tasks, relevant subject matter, and consistent follow-up.” Interestingly, all of these needs can be addressed with the help of the Internet. Even more interestingly, Rebora came up with these original guidelines six or seven years ago. It seems that the needs of “teacher-learning” activities haven’t changed dramatically in the past decade. But the internet, webinars and online seminars specifically, have helped teachers
and administrators improve professional development drastically. But are teachers and school administrators open to webinars as professional development tools?Eye On Education conducted a survey earlier this year that asked our readers about their thoughts on webinars. When we asked, “What is your general opinion of online seminars?” Only 9% of readers said they didn’t like them. Almost 75% of the teachers and administrators said they either liked them or hadn’t yet made up their minds. 25% of readers said they preferred live webinars to recorded webinars, and over 35% said they had no preference. In consideration of professional development we asked, “Do you consider online seminars an alternative or supplement to live professional development?” An amazing 47% of teachers and administrators said they considered webinars both an alternative and supplement to professional development, depending on the webinar. Lastly, we inquired about what factor would prevent our readers from participating in a webinar. 29% of readers said it’s too expensive. Do you agree? What do you think about webinars as professional development tools in general? Leave us a comment!
Interested in Free Webinars by Eye On Education authors? Kathleen A. Foord and Jean M. Haar, authors of Professional Learning Communities: An Implementation Guide and Toolkit, presented free webinars through Minnesota State University’s College of Education. Jean’s webinar is titled “Facing Current Challenges: Leadership Matters” and focuses on the kind of leadership necessary for today’s school systems. Kathleen’s webinar is titled “Developing and Sustaining Professional Learning Communities.” The webinar addresses how to start and sustain effective professional learning communities. These webinars were originally presented live with listener participation, and are now available free as recorded sessions. Both webinars can be found here.
Grad Nation
Blogger’s Note: The below is reprinted, with permission, from Franklin Schargel's blog and you can find the original here. Franklin Schargel is an Eye On Education author and dropout prevention expert.
President Obama dedicates $900 Million for Dropout Prevention
On March 1, 2010, General Colin Powell, America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the formation of Grad Nation. Grad Nation is a 10-year campaign to mobilize the nation as never before to reverse the dropout crisis and enable our children to be prepared for success in college, work and life.
The goals:
Why Grad Nation?
President Obama dedicates $900 Million for Dropout Prevention
On March 1, 2010, General Colin Powell, America’s Promise Alliance Chair Alma Powell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the formation of Grad Nation. Grad Nation is a 10-year campaign to mobilize the nation as never before to reverse the dropout crisis and enable our children to be prepared for success in college, work and life.
The goals:
- Ensure that 90 percent of today’s fourth-graders graduate high school on time.
- Help fulfill the President’s pledge to be the world’s leader in the proportion of college graduates by 2020.
Why Grad Nation?
- Every 26 seconds, another student drops out of school in America – more than 1.3 million students per year.
- Today, more than one in three students fails to graduate from high school. As a result, we lose an entire graduating class every three years.
- Among minority students, less than 50 percent of Native American and a little more than half of African American and Hispanic students completing high school on time.
- Young people who drop out are twice as likely as likely as graduates to be unemployed; three times as likely to live in poverty; eight times more likely to wind up in prison; and twice as likely to become the parent of a child who drops out.
- Of those who do graduate, only about one-third have the skills they need to succeed in college and the 21st century workforce.
Why did you become an educator?
Teaching has often been called not just a job, but a "calling." We want to know... what "called" you to education? Sandra K. Athans, author of Motivating Every Student in Literacy (Including the Highly Unmotivated!) Grades 3-6 currently teaches in New York State. Here's what she had to say when I posed this question to her.
Why I Became an Educator
It’s no surprise that my interest in education stemmed from my parents, both educators, both touting the importance of reading, writing, etcetera from the beginning. Their words, actions, and lives influenced my passion to teach.
My mother’s brilliance was in managing to connect education to everything (much like Gus Portokalus in My Big, Fat Greek Wedding credited everything of importance to the Greeks). For example, many years ago when I was in 8th grade, she helped me draft a persuasive “Why I Should Be Selected To Go To France” letter to my teachers. Like my teenage classmates, I simply wanted to hang out in Paris. But she suggested that I recognize such a trip would enable me to (1) build diverse relationships; (2) grow comfortable with differences among people; and in turn (3) strengthen my education in ways that would make me a better problem-solver. At the time I had no idea what she meant, other than the words aligned with her educational ideals. But she and my 8th grade teachers (who selected me to go to France) knew more than I did at the time.
My dad, on the other hand, was born the first generation American to poor immigrant parents who never learned to speak English. It was his good fortune that one day a scout was watching him play football and offered him a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. He also excelled in his academic studies, focusing on psychology, a subject in which he had expressed no previous interest nor had any experience. When it came time to choose, he dedicated his career to coaching kids and teaching them mathematics.
What I’ve learned collectively from my parents – and what resounds over and over again in the voices and actions of others – is that by participating in education we become agents of change, and we make contributions that can truly matter.
Teachers make a difference! One way Eye On Education celebrates teachers is through the video series Tales from a Teacher's Heart. Watch below for Sandra Athans's Tale, "Finding His Voice."
We would LOVE to hear from you! Please comment below with your response to the question: Why did you become an educator?
Why I Became an Educator
It’s no surprise that my interest in education stemmed from my parents, both educators, both touting the importance of reading, writing, etcetera from the beginning. Their words, actions, and lives influenced my passion to teach.
My mother’s brilliance was in managing to connect education to everything (much like Gus Portokalus in My Big, Fat Greek Wedding credited everything of importance to the Greeks). For example, many years ago when I was in 8th grade, she helped me draft a persuasive “Why I Should Be Selected To Go To France” letter to my teachers. Like my teenage classmates, I simply wanted to hang out in Paris. But she suggested that I recognize such a trip would enable me to (1) build diverse relationships; (2) grow comfortable with differences among people; and in turn (3) strengthen my education in ways that would make me a better problem-solver. At the time I had no idea what she meant, other than the words aligned with her educational ideals. But she and my 8th grade teachers (who selected me to go to France) knew more than I did at the time.
My dad, on the other hand, was born the first generation American to poor immigrant parents who never learned to speak English. It was his good fortune that one day a scout was watching him play football and offered him a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. He also excelled in his academic studies, focusing on psychology, a subject in which he had expressed no previous interest nor had any experience. When it came time to choose, he dedicated his career to coaching kids and teaching them mathematics.
What I’ve learned collectively from my parents – and what resounds over and over again in the voices and actions of others – is that by participating in education we become agents of change, and we make contributions that can truly matter.
Teachers make a difference! One way Eye On Education celebrates teachers is through the video series Tales from a Teacher's Heart. Watch below for Sandra Athans's Tale, "Finding His Voice."
We would LOVE to hear from you! Please comment below with your response to the question: Why did you become an educator?
Spotlight on Franklin Schargel - Franklin’s Workshops and Presentations
You've come across our fourth and final Franklin Schargel spotlight post! This blog post focuses on Franklin's workshops, which he presents around the country many times throughout the year. We've been featuring various articles, videos, and posts about Franklin throughout the month. Click here to see our first, second, or third post.
Helping Students Graduate Workshop
Below is a video that contains excerpts from Franklin's workshop at Coastal Community College titled "Helping Students Graduate." At this workshop, Franklin presented an hour long program describing data-driven, research-based strategies and tools that demonstrate how to prevent students from dropping out of school.
Helping Students Graduate Workshop
Below is a video that contains excerpts from Franklin's workshop at Coastal Community College titled "Helping Students Graduate." At this workshop, Franklin presented an hour long program describing data-driven, research-based strategies and tools that demonstrate how to prevent students from dropping out of school.
Upcoming Engagements
Franklin presents at a variety of schools and conferences around the country. Click here to view Franklin's upcoming engagements on his Web site. This page includes the dates, times, and descriptions of each event. You can also check this page for TV and media appearances.
Want to see Franklin in action? He will be speaking at the National Youth-at-Risk Conference in Savannah, Georgia on March 3rd. Click here to find out more information about the conference.
Browse books by Franklin Schargel.
If you want to have Franklin speak in your school/district or conference on dropout prevention and at-risk students, call him at (505) 823-2339.