Principles of Principals

I've tossed some wet blankets on the school reform fire.  Stirred the pot if you will. In the spirit of TNTP's recent request for more solution-oriented dialogue, versus ad-hominem attacks, we're going to work with the embers we have, beginning with the most powerfully elected body in the United States.   The School Board . I've said it before. You heard me correctly.  At the true grass roots level, there's not a more influential group of people than a school board.  In all their diversity of membership and governance, they select leaders, respond to community needs, and sometimes follow policy...but I digress. To be brief in writing, here are 4.5 solutions for school boards who want to sustain school reform measures; BE AUTHENTIC - In a recent LDS conference talk, Dieter Uchtdorf told an anecdote about lemon juice . In it, this person robs a bank believing no one can see his face .  You see he applied lemon juice to it, believing it would hide him....

Today, we are honored to host a recognized professional educator, Mr. Bill Denham.  Mr. Denham holds a Bachelor's from Northern Arizona University, and a Master's from Marshall University. He is is Veteran of the Arizona Army National Guard. Bill teaches Spanish at Riverside High School of Kanawha County Schools , he is a father of 4, active in local politics, a published author, devoted partner, an award winning barbecue chef,  and an exceptional friend.  All of the resources we discuss today are found on his site, profedenham.com for free. Dr. J: When it comes to virtual classrooms: as a high school Spanish teacher, what do you want parents to know and do?  Profé Denham : I want parents to know that one of the best things their students can do to learn a second language is to read . I would also add that this is true of all levels of language learners, even the most novice of them. With proper scaffolding, such as providing vocabulary in context or reading materi...

While serving in the military, I was introduced to the terms force multiplier and force mitigation. Permit me, dear reader, an explanation. I served as a Forward Observer, 13Foxtrot, or FISTr. FO's are fire support specialists who have the ability to arrange for extra artillery, close air, mortar or naval gun ship ordinance when things get really dicey. We do this job with one tool, a radio. That radio has two critical  parts necessary to it's function, without which nothing will happen. Antennae and batteries. With those two accessories, the radio is a force multiplier .  In other words, when compared to a weapon (pistol, rifle, tank), it has nearly limitless capacity to incapacitate the enemy. A weapon is limited by the number of bullets in a magazine (clip) and the number of bullets one soldier can carry. It's not an efficient nor is it, in my opinion, a very effective tool of war. Even more effective than a radio in war is an outward mindset - or that ...