Author Archives: Courtney O.

The Cult of Smart by Fredrik deBoer, 2020, St. Martin’s Publishing What is intelligence? A book whose thesis seems to be ‘the unintelligent will always be with us, so it’s our moral duty to take care of them’ should spend some time carefully defining terms, but instead deBoer uses a slew of synonyms, not unlikeContinue reading “Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics”

Math: RightStart A, B, C (primary curriculum) Saxon Math (daily, morning meeting only) Kumon Simple Addition Grade 2 Subtraction Grade 2 Addition Grade 3 Addition & Subtraction My First Book of Money: Counting Coins Math Mammoth Light Blue Series Lollipop Logic: Grades K-2, Book 1 Primarily Logic, Grades 2-4 English Language Arts Reading: All About Reading Pre-readingContinue reading “Youngest Child’s Curriculum List, K-2”

Over the last 30 months or so, I’ve taken my youngest daughter from unable to recognize all her letters to maxing out a phonics and high frequency word recognition test, and sliding into a reading comprehension test at a “grade level equivalent” of 12.8. (This does not mean that my daughter can read at theContinue reading “My Baby Can Read”

Written discussion is one of the ways in which teachers can assist students in building camaraderie within the course. Shy students, students with low processing speed, students with facial recognition issues, students with high anxiety levels, students with speech delays, and so on can feel especially isolated. Having written discussions helps give students a low-keyContinue reading “Why Use Discussion Questions?”

Philosophy of Education   Have you got one? Why should you have one? What are the main areas? Contrary to my MA in secondary education, I don’t think this has anything to do with constructivism. That’s a pedagogical style, not a philosophy. Instead, I offer you these four contrasting ideas in tension with each other.Continue reading “Curriculum — and What It Isn’t”

We are counting down the number of lectures in my algebra classes. Only two more left, and then my math students have an end-of-year, cumulative final exam. One question for every concept we’ve covered this year, 70-90 questions. Naturally, students are feeling a little stress. My email inbox is full, with requests for assistance onContinue reading “algebra in 100 minutes per week”

Problem: Students are rude to each other. Solution: Depending on the severity of the rudeness, a teacher might wish to screenshot the comment in situ, and then delete the comment. If peers have called the student to task, the teacher will need to decide whether the “public” reprimand by peers is appropriate. If not, thenContinue reading “Problems and Solutions for Online, Written Discussion Questions”

If teachers want to call out good work as a way of praising a student (the carrot is often more effective than the stick), there are several options. Use a “gold star” image as a virtual sticker in the teacher’s response to students who went above and beyond. Take note of interesting questions or responsesContinue reading “Praising Students Online”

When students respond to each other, “I agree” or “You’re wrong” are not adequate answers. When prepping students for the assignment, teachers should remind students that if they were having a discussion with a friend, if everyone responded, “I agree!” to a statement that discussion wouldn’t last very long. Every student response requires two parts:•Continue reading “Modeling Written, Online Discussion Questions”