Addressing Unfinished Learning

Among many other educational problems raised by the COVID-19 pandemic is unfinished learning, learning gaps for students who didn’t fully cover all the material necessary to advance in grade but who find themselves at the higher level, nonetheless. How to address these gaps is, perhaps, a more complicated issue than one would expect, since barriers … Continue reading “Addressing Unfinished Learning”


Technology Trends in the Classroom

Common Sense Education released their report “The common sense census: Inside the 21st-century classroom” in 2019. Their results were based on a survey of 1,200 US K-12 teachers to explore “what it takes to support teachers and prepare students as schools navigate the growing presence of technology.” The completed report breaks down how teachers, primarily … Continue reading “Technology Trends in the Classroom”


Excused Absences for Mental Health

It used to be that excused absences for missing school focused solely on the visible: a broken bone, a severe illness, the death of a family member. But even before the pandemic started throwing up warning signs about students’ poor mental health, governments and school districts alike were making time for mental health days, citing … Continue reading “Excused Absences for Mental Health”


The Need to Improve Teaching Online Post-Pandemic

Given the speed with which teachers, some of whom had spent decades in front of a physical classroom, had to transition to all-remote learning with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s amazing that they — and their students — have done as well as they did. Now, 14 months later, as we move back … Continue reading “The Need to Improve Teaching Online Post-Pandemic”


The Importance of Re-reading during the Coronavirus Pandemic

A while ago, we posted a blog on the importance of re-reading books and other materials. Two of the key takeaways were these: “While many students are given credit of some sort for reading books during the school year (or completing a summer reading assignment), they are rarely, if ever, given credit for re-reading material. … Continue reading “The Importance of Re-reading during the Coronavirus Pandemic”


Grading in the Age of Coronavirus

Last week we asked a lot of important questions about the state of education while the country is in lockdown from COVID-19, and we asked for our readers’ feedback to be able to draw some broad conclusions. Today, we’re going to talk about a related topic that’s on many students’ and educators’ minds — grading. … Continue reading “Grading in the Age of Coronavirus”


The Ups and Downs of Distance Learning in the Age of Coronavirus

Today, we’re trying a new format for the blog, since we’re all facing a very difficult situation stemming from the global pandemic. Education, while not at a standstill, has greatly changed by moving entirely to distance learning for the moment, and we need to determine a number of things as we move forward. Two of these … Continue reading “The Ups and Downs of Distance Learning in the Age of Coronavirus”


Graphic Novels and Other Resources for Stuck-at-Home Kids

In our blog on graphic novels and comics, we discussed how visual input can reinforce characters and themes, especially for those who struggle through rigorous text. Now that we’re all practicing social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the schools and libraries are closed, it’s even more important to match students with reading material that … Continue reading “Graphic Novels and Other Resources for Stuck-at-Home Kids”