In a recent interview, former Vice President Joe Biden said, “That’s how we make progress. Shine a bright light on a problem. Look at it closely, and change the culture.” He was talking about domestic violence, but doesn’t this work for all issues?

As we approach the New Year, we’ll start hearing about new year’s resolutions. Thinking back, I don’t know many people who actually achieved those resolutions. Do you? Why is that?

How can we teach today’s digital youth in inclusive environments?

Our current digital lifestyle has dramatically altered the brain development of today’s learners. Here are four ways described by Marilee Sprenger (2010) Brain-based teaching in the digital age. ASCD.

Most of us complain when we get frustrated. Why do things have to go wrong? Why don’t things go my way? Why can’t things go smoothly?

Sound familiar?

How many of us welcome challenges? For all of us, there are times when things just don’t go as planned….when our students (or our colleagues) make life difficult… when our family members have “issues” that must be handled before we get to our own quite lengthy list of responsibilities. At times like that, if you’re like me, our first instinct is to have a negative reaction. Do you respond under your breath or right out loud? It depends on the issue and your mood, right?

This fall, teachers across the country will spend countless hours and plenty of their own funds to set up a welcoming classroom for their students. I love seeing their pictures on social media. Their hearts are in the right place. Their creative efforts will make an important first impression.

“Why do you want to be a teacher?”

I asked hundreds of graduate candidates that question. The responses varied, but there was a constant theme. Each and every one shared a story about a life event or an individual that had deeply touched their lives. They all had been drawn into this profession by a compelling commitment to make a difference with children.

What’s the best birthday present you ever got?

My husband gave me a birthday surprise that will keep on giving and benefit everyone I touch. This past weekend, he drove us to the New York Adirondack Mountains for a mindfulness meditation retreat at the Omega Institute.

It’s summer roadtrip season. What fun! But don’t you hate that moment when your GPS vocalizes, rerouting?

I get a sinking feeling. “What? Did I miss a turn?” Sometimes I’m startled out of my reverie, lulled by the monotony of driving. Other times I was already on high alert because of unfamiliar territory. But now I’m panicking because I may have blown my chances of arriving on time.

I recently realized why most professional development sessions, including the ones I led, did not have our intended long term impact. I have provided professional development since 1997 in two arenas:

1) inservice learning to currently practicing teachers, specialists, and transition coordinators and

2) preservice preparation of undergraduate and graduate students earning their teacher certifications.

Have you ever heard teachers complain that their students resist learning?

They say:

My students won’t practice their skills, even though I tell them it’s important for their life.

My class doesn’t pay attention when we go over a test. Don’t they want to learn from their mistakes?

My kids are bored with this unit, but I tell them we just have to get through it. …

The most common source of management mistakes is not the failure to find the right answers. It is the failure to ask the right questions. ”

— Peter Drucker

How often have you experienced a classroom FREEZE FRAME? You know that moment. The class has just finished reading a text or completing a learning task. Maybe the teacher has just presented new information by lecture, demonstration, or video. What happens at that moment?

“Have a great day!” How often do you hear people wish that for you? But what do they mean? Are they wishing that the magic fairy of happiness would sprinkle sparkly glitter on your head? I don’t think it works like that.

“Have you tried Planned Ignoring?”

That’s what I asked a co-teaching pair last week. I was surprised they hadn’t heard of this tried-and-true method of behavior management.

We were brainstorming after I had watched them trying to control a wiggly late afternoon classroom of 6th graders.

As a teacher, I have often tried to help my students develop new, more productive habits. Most of us agree that developing learner efficacy is an important part of teaching. Lately I’ve been pondering why we generally produce such limited change with our students. But first, let’s make this personal.

Have you ever tried to change a bad habit yourself?

The educational research has consistently reported that whether students are learning vocabulary, new skills, or appropriate behaviors, their new skills must be embedded in the general education context in order for students to grow the brain connections with prior knowledge.

Nobody will dispute that there is a great deal of pressure on schools today.

Improve test scores, reduce behavioral incidents, address achievement gaps, build student resilience, engage families… The list goes on… As I’m setting up for a professional development session, I often chat with teachers about other initiatives they have in their schools right now. I’m not surprised anymore when they start counting them off and run out of fingers.

How can teachers survive in such a stifling environment?

Teachers who are weary of developing differentiated approaches for their students will want to learn more about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The difference is that in differentiation, the TEACHER has responsibility for adjusting the levels and types of content, process, and product to fit the interests, learning aptitudes, prior knowledge, and skill levels of their students

The first time a teacher said this to me, I tried to convince her otherwise, but I’ve come to accept that she was right. Let me share why I changed my mind. First, some background.

Last week when I was conducting a professional development workshop, a teacher said,

“That’s fine for the average or above students, but my kids can’t do that!”

It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, and it certainly won’t be the last. These teachers have done a thorough job of presenting the content. Yet, some students just didn’t get it.