A few years ago, I met a gentleman who told me he played in a band for 19 years, and made 3 records.  He loves music, and is grateful to his dad for “making” him learn a musical instrument – even though when he was young, he hated it…especially when his friends were outside playing…

I’m sure you’ve heard the argument that students in faith-based schools academically outperform public school students because of small class sizes.  Let’s debunk that myth here and now by going back to 1965…over 50 years ago.  The 1st grade at St. Albert the Great School in Baldwin Boro (a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA) had approximately…

I’ve succeed in finding something that does not exist in some computer coding languages – the “does not equal” sign. ≠ needs to be found somewhere, then pasted in as a character.  There are suggestions in several coding forums regarding what can be used, such as -=, which is the negation of the equal sign, !=…

Why do we need another Web site that talks about education? Why is there a picture of the space shuttle blasting off? And why is education spelled that way? Almost unbelievably, this site was “launched” 9 years ago (now you know the answer to “Why” number 2, and can it really be that long?).  At…

Here’s a lesson in how quickly something  that’s been around for a decade can disappear, and still stay on the Web – at least for a while – then disappear. A great resource for news in the education space was Education News at http://www.educationnews.org.  Starting in 1997, their mission was a noble one: A Global…

This is one of the many examples of why our educational system is in peril…not just trouble. Let’s say you’re working for a public school district as a “specials” teacher – that is, art, music, library, phys ed, or perhaps you’re a school counselor, and, as a member of the teacher’s union, you’ve been working…

The financial management company SmartAsset releases an annual study of the best places to be a teacher in the US. Factors such as school quality, culture, affordability, and salary levels all come into play for teachers who have the luxury of deciding on the best place to live.  For 2018, the best place was my hometown,…

Several years ago, there was a blog titled Advanced Life Skills (which is no longer accessible).  In one of its article, the concept of approval was discussed, and this particular phrase resonated with me: There are certain core needs shared by every person on the planet. Some of these needs are physical such as food,…

As educators, we know what IQ is – Intelligence Quotient.  The higher the number, the more capacity one has for learning about “stuff.” But, how can some people with lower IQs be more successful that people with higher IQs?  The answer, as is posited today, can be found in EQ – Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence,…

Here’s a great article on traits that make a great school leader – http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/what-makes-a-great-principal-an-audio-slide-show/ But in working with faith-based schools, I wonder how one can earn the title “great principal” if their school’s enrollment has been slowly shrinking over the past decade.  Before you jump to the conclusions of “economic conditions, changing demographics, or changing…