Category Archives: Parents

Too fast with tech in the classroom?

I got this great email from a great friend, whose daughter is in 5th grade. Here goes: Her “school, and her 5th grade teacher in particular, are really big on ‘preparing kids for the new globally networked society’ – blah, … Continue reading

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Talking and listening

This weekend’s Wall Street Journal had this great piece by Rob Lazebnik – called It’s True: You Talk Too Much – and it brought me back to a post I did in June on developing good question-askers. In the article … Continue reading

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The Dos and Don’ts of Back-to-School Night

A quick Friday post – and much thanks to my parent peeps that helped with the below: 1. Don’t ask us to fill out a handout that asks questions such as, “Is there anything that you’d like to share with … Continue reading

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Grumpy Middle School Dad & Thoughtful Middle School Dad

A hypothetical conversation. You watch: The thoughtful guy will win out, I know. Thoughtful Middle School Dad: Why the…um…grumpy face? Grumpy Middle School Dad: My kid – just driving me crazy. TMSD: (face set in mock horror) No! Really?! GMSD: … Continue reading

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Parents and standards-based grading

Our district is rolling out standards-based grading this school year, moving away from the traditional report card. As this piece in the Washington Post stated: “In the old system, students received a single letter grade in a subject area, such … Continue reading

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Revise Back to School Night

Back to School Night last week, and it felt the same as those other Back to School Nights the last seven years: Very unsatisfying. As I think is typical in other school systems, parents got the schedule of their child … Continue reading

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