The Highland School, described as a “democratic day and boarding school,” summarizes nicely its school’s thesis on its homepage. My favorite passage covers the individualistic aspect of effective learning.

It is literally impossible to entice, to cajole, or to discipline a child into maturity. Maturity and personal responsibly can only be learned with freedom, time, and the democratic process. Respecting that fact allows children to appreciate that they are individually responsible for what they know now and for the rest of their lives.

I think this is an interesting approach by the Highland School. Rather than just describing their coursework, they took the initiative to define, through their eyes, what learning is and how it’s most effective per student. They continue:

Alternatively, the students who, for various reasons, perform well in traditional schools don’t realize the downside of their structured education until they have successfully navigated it, graduated from it, and entered the ‘real world’. It is only at that point that many admit that much of their education was pointless. Others are left lacking in important abilities: confidence, self-direction, and the ability to move on after failure.

While they make a point to emphasize how other schools “are doing it wrong,” individualized learning is a process that plenty of universities are catching on to. During my senior year at my university, a large majority of my coursework was dependent on activities I was already doing, and learning from, by choice.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “discussion series,” a collection of posts featuring highlights and questions around the evolving state of education aimed at enlightening young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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A New York Times economix column looks at whether the “success” of city is tied to how entrepreneurial it is:

The answer should matter for two reasons: local policy makers are constantly looking for ways to rev the economic engines of their cities, and the ingredients of success at the local level can help inform national policy. Just as city-level evidence on the connection between education and urban growth helps build the case for a national schooling agenda, city-level evidence on the determinants of entrepreneurship should help guide federal policies toward new businesses.

My first thought of skepticism to this claim was regarding “measurement.” Apparently, it’s being thought about a few ways:

One route is to use the self-employment rate, but self-employment doesn’t capture the scale of the enterprise or its success. It also creates some anomalous results.

If the self-employment rate captures entrepreneurship, then West Palm Beach is by far the most entrepreneurial place in the country and the San Jose metropolitan area, that home of Silicon Valley, is one of the least.

Discussion: Do you think the location of a university have any indication of how “entrepreneurial” the coursework, students or teachers are?

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want your material considered for a discussion topic?

Please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “discussion series,” a collection of posts featuring highlights and questions around the evolving state of education aimed at enlightening young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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The perfectionist in the classroom is always obvious. They can typically add as much to the classroom environment as they can take away.

Daniel Pink has a good piece on perfectionism on his blog, where he discusses why and how it occurs:

According to research reported in this Miller-McCune article, perfectionism comes in two varieties: adaptive and maladaptive. And one of the key determinants of the type of perfectionism someone displays is whether the quest for perfection is “motivated from an inner urge or an outside push.”

My favorite quote was his description on when perfectionism is beneficial and when it’s not:

If you’re driving hard because of your own desire for excellence, that can actually lead to greater satisfaction and psychological health. But if you’re pursuing perfection because of pressure from others — parents, bosses, peers — that’s likely to take you down the path of dissatisfaction and reduced well-being.

DISCUSSION: How do you deal with the over-achieving perfectionist in the classroom? Does it add to your classroom environment or detract from it?

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want your material considered for a discussion topic?

Please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “discussion series,” a collection of posts featuring highlights and questions around the evolving state of education aimed at enlightening young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Thomas College has a new policy on education (via New York Times):

Students who can’t find work in their fields within six months of graduation can come back to take classes free, or have the college pay their student loans for a year.

But..wait. There’s more:

The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of declining enrollments in those majors.

What’s going on and why the change in attitude? Let’s look at the stats:

Consider the change captured in the annual survey by the University of California, Los Angeles, of more than 400,000 incoming freshmen. In 1971, 37 percent responded that it was essential or very important to be “very well-off financially,” while 73 percent said the same about “developing a meaningful philosophy of life.” In 2009, the values were nearly reversed: 78 percent identified wealth as a goal, while 48 percent were after a meaningful philosophy.

Discussion: What methods, from either the perspective of a student or teacher, can you use to receive an education outside of “just” a major?

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want your material considered for a discussion topic?

Please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “discussion series,” a collection of essays featuring notes and questions around the evolving state of education aimed at enlightening young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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David Brooks, in a New York Times op-ed, discusses his “other education,” referring specifically to his early exposure to Bruce Springsteen:

We don’t usually think of this second education. For reasons having to do with the peculiarities of our civilization, we pay a great deal of attention to our scholastic educations, which are formal and supervised, and we devote much less public thought to our emotional educations, which are unsupervised and haphazard. This is odd, since our emotional educations are much more important to our long-term happiness and the quality of our lives.

How does “other education” work? Brooks continues:

This second education doesn’t work the way the scholastic education works. In a normal schoolroom, information walks through the front door and announces itself by light of day. It’s direct. The teacher describes the material to be covered, and then everybody works through it.

My college experience was rich with “other education,” including concerts, plays and even parties. I’d argue that out of classroom experience during college is as important as the in classroom experience.

Discussion: What were some of your “other educations,” in college or otherwise? How can universities encourage these activities while still remaining focused on academics?

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want your material considered for a discussion topic?

Please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Diane Hulme is  a Georgia certified elementary and middle school teacher, currently employed part time at a private school for children with learning differences.

Diane has been teaching for about 16 years: 6 years in a public school system; 8 in several private schools, and 2 years of subbing. Two of the private schools I taught at serve students with special populations.

What inspired you to teach?

I did not want to teach initially. I have a BA in English and started out in public relations work. I married a teacher, which gave me an inside look at the profession. I was envious of the rapport my husband had with his students and parents. You don’t get hugs and sweet little notes in the business world! I began to think seriously about teaching after working one year as a job placement counselor at a private agency. I was shocked and saddened to see the limited opportunities available to young people without college degrees or technical training. It was after this that I started back to school to get my certification. I think my experiences in jobs prior to teaching make me a better teacher!

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

I think students are inspired to meet their goals when they have a calm, caring and patient “cheerleader” as a teacher. Being able to individualize instruction, to create attainable goals for each student, is key, in addition to creating a classroom “team” atmosphere. Pacing and organization of lessons is important for a teacher- always reviewing, allowing adequate time to practice skills, and summarizing learning. I also believe students need lots of different ways to practice skills and demonstrate mastery, with lessons and projects that emphasize critical thinking. I am a firm believer in leading students from extrinsic rewards towards intrinsic rewards.

What is one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

I felt well prepared actually, as I worked one year as a paraprofessional before starting. I do wish that I had had more knowledge of learning disabilities and behavior disorders before working in our public school system. Our system has many disadvantaged youth, and when I started in 1989, many had undiagnosed disabilities. I have more training and experience now, largely due to my private school experiences and training. In my state, one survey class on exceptional children is required, but this is really not enough!

What did your training teach you that was most helpful in preparing you to enjoy and thrive in a classroom today?

Exposure and study in learning styles was invaluable, with actual teaching examples to take into the classroom. In graduate classes I have taken, the peer interaction and sharing of ideas and experiences is valuable.

What would you like to improve about your teaching?

I would love to get a masters degree in learning disabilities or counseling. I see these two areas as instrumental to the success of students today. I’d also like to learn to use current technology, such as the ITouch and Smart Board, to enhance my teaching.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This is a guest post from our journalist Alex J. Mann.  You can subscribe to his blog here and follow him on Twitter here.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Ruth Sheffer teaches high school English in a technological high school in Jerusalem, Israel. This is her 30th year. During our interview, she proclaimed “I’m still alive!”

What inspired you to teach?

Nothing I just kind of fell into it by accident. It was a good job for me when my kids were little and I did like the interaction with the pupils, the friendly staff at my school and the fact that no matter how bad things got I had a new shot at it the following September.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

Unfortunately this is a hard question for me to answer. In my opinion, the teachers have goals and the parents have goals. The head of the school definitely has goals. But many of the students have only the goal of hanging out with their friends, having fun, and maybe getting good grades but this is usually a desire they wish to achieve with very little effort on their part (sorry to be so negative)

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

I think that the ability to improvise and to be a bit of an actor is indispensable int he classroom.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Stephanie Barry, a teacher of 8 years, is a speech-language pathologist. Currently, she is in private practice while previously working in elementary schools throughout the Phoenix Metro area.

What inspired you to teach?

I wanted to help children succeed in school. I loved school but knew many that struggled and wanted to help others like them feel successful. I choose Speech Pathology because I wanted to work one-on-one with children to help them meet their goals.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

Motivation is my most helpful method. When you can inspire motivation or a desire to participate in the activities, they show great progress. Then the progress itself becomes motivating, they fell that they can do it and are proud of themselves when they have improved their skills. That helps keep them working when things become challenging.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

That plans change.  I worked very hard to make good lesson plans and tried to stick to them.  After a couple of months, I learned that it is better to make an outline of what I wanted to cover as sometimes the kids take you in a different direction.  It is very meaningful to them to explore their curiosities as they are occurring and usually fit right in with my “plan” so I learned more flexibility in how I taught my students.  They enjoyed therapy more as they knew I cared about what they thought and how they felt and I have had some pretty interesting session.  Some of which I have actually done with other groups because I thought the material we covered might be meaningful to others.  This flexibility helps you grow as a teacher because kids are always thinking of new and different questions and situations and working those into therapy has been a great experience for both the students and myself.

What did your training teach you that was most helpful in preparing you to enjoy and thrive in a classroom today?

The basic strategies. Knowing the basic strategies to facilitate success was the most beneficial thing I learned in graduate school. These skills help me implement a variety of strategies into an activity to find out what works best for that child. My professors also taught me how to be flexible, how to think outside the box to address concerns in new and different ways and how to implement strategies in ways I may not have thought of before. All this helps me to provide the necessary tools for my students to succeed in therapy and as a result flourish in school.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Kim Taylor-DiLeva, a teacher of 12 years, started out teaching elementary school. Now, she occasionally teaches preschool sign language classes, but mostly to train teachers through inservice workshops.

What inspired you to teach?

I wanted to make a difference – to help children to succeed.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

Showing them where they need to go (the end product) and breaking down in little steps so that they feel like they are achieving something and are getting closer to the end result. Sign language is a great way to help children to achieve their goals if they are language arts related – learning vocabulary words, learning to read, etc.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

I wish I had known about the benefits of using sign language in the classroom – to help improve classroom management and also as a way to help struggling learners and special needs children have another way of using a visual and kinesthetic method to learn.

What did your training teach you that was most helpful in preparing you to enjoy and thrive in a classroom today?

That children learn in different ways so to use as many methods, varieties of instruction that you can. Teach through unit study so that children are learning about a topic through science, history, language arts, etc. at the same time.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.

This post is part of the Teachers Certification Map’s “lessons from the field”, a series of posts featuring passionate, inspiring educators from across the country discussing some of the lessons that they have learned over the years that would help young teachers as they embark on their careers.

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Jennifer Ryan is currently a program trainer for preschool teachers in the San Diego Area. She has been working with preschool children for 20 years; I have been an assistant teacher and then became a lead teacher about 10 years ago.

What inspired you to teach?

I am inspired daily by the children. Even as a young child, I was drawn to teaching those younger than me. I spent my lunch periods in 8th grade helping to supervise the kindergarten class at their recess. Teaching is just who I am.

What classroom methods are most helpful in pushing students towards their goals?

I make sure to always let the child lead the activity and then add information to what they are doing, allowing them to build on their knowledge and skills. I think the best thing we, in preschool, can do for the children is to empower them. I empower them to find solutions to problems, complete tasks independently, and to solve conflicts with each other. With an adult standing close by giving them verbal cues how to get through a problem and then cheering with them when they accomplish it on their own. That is the best thing we can give the young children.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known when you started in the classroom?

How to manage the other adults in the environment. As a preschool teacher, you have to direct the assistant teachers, volunteers, and parents. Pulling that team together is really the hard work. Make sure to have specific things for them to do and never assume that they know what they should be doing. We all have to start from somewhere. We are educated professionals and we need to empart that knowledge to those who are starting out in this field and to those parents who need some direction. In short, you have to think of yourself as a teacher of all people, not just a teacher of preschool children.

What skills could more developed if you were to enroll in a teacher training program?

I do not have a masters in any field. I know that I make improvements to my teaching skills every day. I learn from every situation, every child, every activity. What worked, what didn’t, and what I need to further research. The place that I improve upon is my knowledge. I keep updating my knowledge in recent research, studies, and changes in the child development and education fields.

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Do you know someone with great insights to share with young teachers, or do you want to be considered for an interview? If so, please email us at hello@certificationmap.com.