Category: Educators

“If You Could Change One Thing” – Education Experts Share Their Thoughts

As our society ages, and bureaucratic ossification creeps into our lives more often, we often need to remind ourselves change can be good. I took that to heart this month. During April, I decided to try […]

The Importance of Female Role Models in STEM : Showing Girls They Can Build the Future

When I was little I dreamed of becoming a writer. At the age of nine I declared that I would be famous for writing a series of short stories entitled, “The Eraser that Ate my Pen” […]

All The World’s An Inference

NEVER. READ. A. JOKE. Trust me, just don’t ever do it. As well written, as well crafted, as a joke may be, like a note of music, it must be played and performed. It must be […]

How Virtual Learning Has Changed The Landscape of Traditional Education

I grew up in the eighties. I loved school. Well, for a while anyway. I had a third-grade teacher who differentiated our spelling words each week, all of us working on words specific to us. I […]

3 Online Emotional Support Resources for Autism Families

The autism diagnosis is a lonely isolating diagnosis. Neurotypical families may think it is difficult, but it is actually thousands of times harder than what some people may think. When my son received his diagnosis 27 […]

Mastery Learning – The Basics

Mastery Learning Doesn’t Have to be scary. A lot of times when I talk about Mastery Learning with teachers, I can see them slowly start back away and sometimes even getting noticeably scared. I’ll be honest, […]

What Board Games Teach Children In An Electronic Age

When we see how much time kids put in playing with their iPad or XBox One, you might wonder if there is anyone under the age of thirty that still plays board games. Good news! People […]

11 Horse Toys Kids Will Love

From plastic figurines to the classic rocking horse, horse toys have long been a favorite for children of all ages. Nothing inspires imaginative play like riding a rocking horse and pretending you’re in a rodeo, or […]

Our Maker Mindset

There is no greater joy than watching children create something. Whether the creating is done solo or in a group, thinking is visible. You can see the “wheels turning”. Hands-on work requires trial and error. If […]

Four Emerging Trends in Education to Keep An Eye On

I have often heard the adage, “In education, what’s old is new again.” While this is true of some initiatives, I’ve been in education long enough to know these strategies are improved upon as they come […]

RIGHTS DON’T STAY RIGHTS ALL ON THEIR OWN

Quite a bit of adolescent hand-wringing starts to snake through the room after a couple of minutes. Kids look at me puzzled, but I pay them no mind. I’m in full test-proctor-mode. “But Mr. Bowen, this […]

Modern Day Pioneers: That’s no Oregon Trail up ahead – it’s the convergence of STEM and World Languages

What does it take to be a pioneer? To leave the tried and true path in search of something more. To know that it is not if failure will strike, but when, and how you will […]

Breaking Down the Walls

She’s got a smile that’s more like a hug. It somehow pulls you in. Even begrudgingly, it still manages to pull you in. Even me. I’m generally suspicious of people that seem too happy. From a […]

Tackling Top Leadership Best Practices

I have had the pleasure of working in over thirty different school districts in two different countries over the past nineteen years. Those experiences, coupled with my passion for student-driven educational environments and strong leadership practices […]

Autism: Does the Neurodiversity Movement and Self-Advocates Know What Is Best?

The Situation Your toddler is turning age 3 and does not speak, communicate, or play. Instead, he runs back and forth flapping his hands. He picks up objects and flaps them in front his eyes. He […]

Digital Tools in the Classroom

With the rise of technology in the classroom, teachers have practically unlimited methods for teaching, assigning, and grading student work. Features within forums such as Google Classroom, Flocabulary, Read180 Universal, PowToon and NewsELA allow for student […]