All Blog Posts (208)

In the last week I have now found two awesome Facebook posts worth sharing from FTN member, Kaitlin Nelson.  I'm going to have to follow Kaitlin's Facebook more closely from now on!

Read Kaitlin's experience with the power of the word YET.  This comes from an interaction she had recently with a student in her Math class in Portland, Oregon:

Student: "I can't do…

Freshman Transition Network member and 9th grade math teacher, Kaitlin Nelson, shared the following post on Facebook today.  I hope she doesn't mind me reproducing it here on the Freshman Transition Network, but I couldn't resist.  It's so simple yet reflects a profound understanding of young people.  (Actually, of people in general)

Want to get 9th…

There are several blog posts on this site related to using music in the classroom to inspire and motivate kids.  Each has included a list of specific songs that can be used. Here are links to the previous 2 posts:

Part 1, Part 2…

With Labor Day behind us now, students and educators across the country are back to school and working hard. This time of year I find myself thinking about how THIS year will be THE year - the year when I finally get it right! I'm still waiting for THAT year to come, but in the meantime, I'm sure that self-reflection and a focus on continuous improvement are essential ingredients of my professional growth. And so I reflect once again.... How can I make THIS year THE…

Do you ever make the mistake of forgetting that  life is longer than a school year?  

There is an eternity out there, yet we often view time as an extremely finite resource.  Our own understanding of life is so limited, and we are often blinded by the here and now.

The same concept applies to education, more specifically, to how we educators view our students.  We tend to be blinded by the here and now.  We see and judge students' lives based on the years they…

I recently wrote an article entitled How Much Did Your Assumptions Cost You Today? which appears in this month's edition of the Rhode Island Small Business Journal (RISBJ).

While the article is designed for small business owners, the concepts and the activity are relevant to parents, teachers…

I recently wrote an article entitled Do Your Children Know What You Do at Work? Probably Not which appears in this month's edition of the Rhode Island Small Business Journal (RISBJ).

I address the concern that children do not know what their parents do at work (as illustrated by the …

Some of you may be advising students who are looking for either full or part time jobs.  If so, the article Selecting New Employees For Your Small Business: Do Your Applicant's Resumes ROAR (Result Oriented and Relevant) which appeared in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal (RISBJ) may be of help to you and the students.   Feel free to pass along the URL: http://issuu.com/gillantini/docs/risbj/42

Some of you may be advising students who plan to pursue a psychology degree in college.  Preparing For Your Career With A Psychology Degree, an article which appeared in Eye on Psi Chi, the magazine of the psychology honor society,  Winter 2012 Edition   (which I wrote) would be of benefit to those students.   Please feel free to send them the URL for the issue. …

Members of The Freshman Transition Network know how important it is to share with students stories and examples that help young people live into their purpose, their mission, and their life story.  Coach John Wooden is one such example shared often on this site.  (See John Wooden's Corner)   Now,…

A friend from Oak Hill, WV turned me on to E.T. - the nickname for Eric the Hip Hop Preacher.  If you're looking for more resources to share with your students to teach them about life, check out E.T.'s YouTube page.  

I love his moniker - TGIM - which stands for Thank God It's Monday.   This guy is all about motivation, all about talking straight to young people, and all about…

Unfortunately many things you have on here are blocked. The access denied pops up. It makes this a difficult tool to use. I run into this problem frequently with other eaching sites I try to use.

Tina

This post was originally shared on Assessment FOR Learning.

I'm going to share a specific example of how AFL can be used to impact student behavior; however, first I'd like to take a look at the topic from a philosophical standpoint.  We should start by reminding ourselves why it is that AFL helps students learn content.  AFL practices help students learn because as a result of regular/daily assessments:

• Students…

Members of the Freshman Transition Network know what a premium we place on inspiring students.  In fact, while we love teaching content (love it passionately), we really feel that there is NOTHING you can do for you students more important than pointing them toward truth and providing them with lessons to guide them through life.  This story of how a polic officer's act of kindness - right before his death - has impacted a young boy's life is a worthy example to be shared with our students.…

Over the past decade as I have worked with high schools across the country, I have noticed that the term Freshman Academy has almost become synonymous for Freshman Transition Program.  This is a mistake along the same lines as saying that the word Hammer is synonymous with the word Tool.  A hammer is a type of tool.  A Freshman Academy is a type of Freshman Transition Program.  But just like there are more tools than just hammers, there are also more types of Freshman Transition Programs…

That’s My Mom:

An Effective Career Orientation Program

For Middle School and High School Students



Ronald G. Shapiro, Ph. D.…