Archive for September 2014
A Tale of 2 Parents: Which One Are You?
After teaching in a high school for more than a decade, I met thousands of parents at parent-teacher conferences. As I think back, two particular meetings with parents really stood out to me. Megan was a student that struggled to turn assignments in on time, but she had a very nice presence in class. Going…
Read MoreBuilding a Positive Relationship with Your Teacher Could Impact Your Grade
As a teacher, I always set high expectations for my students. I was firm on deadlines and adhered to expectations I built from Day 1. Then, I met Jackie. Jackie was a smart, cheery, liked-by-everyone sort of student. Every day that she entered the classroom, she greeted me with a “Hi, Mr. Winter, how are…
Read More25 Ways to Ask Your Kids ‘How Was School?’ Without Asking ‘So How Was School?’
“It was fine.” “It was good.” “It was okay.” If you are a parent, you usually hear one of these 3 answers everyday when you ask your child how school was. The answer always leaves you wanting more. In order to get the answers and details about their school life, you have to get creative.…
Read MoreHow a $0.06 Tool Gets Students to Use a Planner
Pavlov’s Dog taught us that we pursue activities that provide rewards. This historic experiment is an extremely relevant principle today, especially in education. Students do activities that they can see the value in! People also avoid pain. No one enjoys or does something that directly causes him or her pain or stress. This fact, and…
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