For the last two weeks, students in my class have explored multiple facets of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.  They have analyzed sources for bias, posed intelligent questions, created metaphors for the conflict and developed solutions.  I admit that it is idealistic to assume that 8th graders can solve the world's problems in two ...

''It's a sun,'' a girl explains without offering even a concise explanation for her metaphor of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. ''I'm not sure I'm seeing the connection,'' I prod carefully, placing the blame on myself rather than suggesting that she might not understand the concept of metaphor. ''It's like this. The sun devours everything. It ...

She greets the students with a faux smile and haggard eyes, offering the same rehearsed line, ''pick up your bell work,'' and like androids, they wander to their assigned seats.  Though she resembles a Wal-Mart greeter, the classroom most closely resembles a McDonalds.  With the prefabricated, inoffensive posters, brightly ...

Sometimes I feel as if I don't fit into the system of education.  I wonder if I am just crazy or if I am part of a silent minority (perhaps even majority) who feel the same way.  So, I am making a list of paradigm shifts that I think many teachers, administrators and politicians need to make. I hate lists, but I really felt like turning ...

In our English Language Development class (a thirty minute mandated period where I am supposed to offer scripted, factory-direct instruction) I posed the question, ''Why don't kids read?'' Students discussed the difficulty of reading text that has been too watered down or too difficult, too long or too short and what happens when it feels ...

A small crowd of ten students gather in my classroom for our monthly movie night.  The name is a bit of a misnomer.  The movie actually runs from 4:45-5:15, but ''Monthly Movie Late-Afternoon/Early Evening'' sounds convoluted.  I guess most lies are borne of convenience more than anything.  We watch ''Salt of the Earth,'' a ...

Gender-based education, once relegated to parochial schools and stodgy prep academies, is now becoming a popular trend in education.  Parents swear by the need to separate adolescents to help ease concentration. (Some would argue in favor of sending all adolescents to another continent or another planet) Teachers in gender-based ...

Educational Philosophy in Less Than Ten Words: Someone challenged me to define my educational philosophy in ten words or less.  While I initially scoffed at the excercise (considering it as a sound-byte creation) I found it to be challenging and interesting.  Can you define your educational philosophy?  Here are the best ones I ...

Yesterday, staff development was actually very relevant.  However, it was painful.  The question at hand was, ''Why did our school fail to make AYP?''  Looking back, I failed to differentiate between AYP and ''Why is our school a failing school?''  They used those terms synonomously, while they are actually quite ...

It's six fifty-six and I have no idea what I'm teaching first hour.  It has to do with the sixties and the counter-culture, but I'm still undecided about how it will flesh out.  I'm sure I have something typed up in the lesson plan binder (the one where I now have to print two separate copies - one for the school secretary and one for my ...