With mindfulness practices being all the rage in school these days, some teachers are bound to respond with a feeling of doubt or even exasperation, thinking: ”I already have enough on my plate, curriculum-wise, and I see mindfulness as just another thing I have to incorporate into my classroom.” This objection is understandable, because teachers...Read More

It’s been eight years since the Common Core State Standards were unveiled and states began adopting them for use in their evaluation programs.  The firestorm of controversy which initially greeted their introduction into American education from both sides of the political aisle seems to have died down somewhat and presently the Common Core appears to...Read More

Anyone who has been in American education for more than a generation understands that educational trends come in waves.  Progressive education gives way to back to basics which yields to open education which in term is supplanted by cultural literacy, high stakes testing and standards-based instruction.  And so it goes. Somewhere in there, around about...Read More

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind law in 2001, there’s been a requirement that schools (at least those receiving federal funds), use ”evidence-based” research to back-up the effectiveness of an instructional intervention in the classroom.  The evidence-based research most often regarded as optimal is the experimental or randomized control trial (RCT).  This...Read More

The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has left many people upset, confused, angry, and powerless.  A good way to defuse these feelings is by becoming proactive, particularly in those areas where Trump is likely to promote destructive legislation, formulate dangerous foreign policies, modify cultural discourse, or ignite irrational elements within...Read More