teacher stuff – Blue Cereal Education

The Importance Of Being Delusional

Blue Cereal — Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

You may remember the old Roadrunner cartoons where Wile E. Coyote, distracted by his mad pursuit of his prey, runs right off the edge of a cliff before pausing in mid-air. Oddly, he’s fine as long as he doesn’t look down and notice the reality of his situation. If he’d just kept running, he might … Continue reading

Is That A Right?

Blue Cereal — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 20:17:38 +0000

Don’t get excited – I’m not diving into current events or anything. (I’m far too demure for such things.) In fact, I’m intentionally avoiding the subject at the moment because any effort I make to write rationally about what we’ve become ends up as a spittle-spewing, obscenity-laden rant and, worse, totally off-brand. Those of you … Continue reading

Cutting Up Gum Based On Haircuts

Blue Cereal — Thu, 19 Oct 2017 22:14:36 +0000

Even if all we care about are the standards and the exams and the skills and the content, the best way to make that medicine is with motivated, supported educators well-aware of expectations but with substantial autonomy to adopt and adapt as they see fit based on the kids in front of them and the unique reality they radiate. I’m not saying there’s no role for online courses or commonly agreed upon curriculum across your departments, but setting aside the ethics of treating students as interchangeable receptacles, the vast majority of the time it simply doesn’t work.

Because they’re not.

Sample Syllabus

Blue Cereal — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 00:39:53 +0000

I’m always surprised what people ask about at conferences or in small group settings. That’s not a criticism, just a reminder that sometimes we don’t know as much as we think we do about what people want, need, or might take an interest in. I’m often asked about my grading policies and classroom expectations and … Continue reading

Classroom Control, Part I (Historical Guest Blog)

Blue Cereal — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 06:00:00 +0000

Today’s Historical Guest Blog comes to us from Corinne A. Seeds, A.M., Principal of the Training School, Assistant Supervisor of Training, University of California at Los Angeles, with the cooperation of Milo B. Hillegas, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. I am not aware that either has a blog of their own, … Continue reading