I’ve heard teachers complain about emails they get from parents, that they’re mean-spirited, rude, etc. It makes me paranoid to email the teacher because sometimes they just come across the wr…
Accountability is critical to doing our best work and doing it the right way. When we’re being held accountable, there’s always a voice in our head saying, “What will my teacher (or my boss, my mother, the police, etc.) say if I do that?”
We do make sacrifices for our children, but children can learn to make sacrifices, too, even if it’s just for the benefit of their parents’ sanity.
As our culture becomes more divided, it’s crucial to teach with a balanced or apolitical perspective. “Children must learn how to think,” Margaret Mead said, “not what to think.”
Preventing them entirely would mean curing the most severe forms of mental illness. Schools can’t do anything like that. It might make us feel better to add social-emotional learning (SEL) pro…
I saw where South Carolina’s Richland District 2 in Columbia is looking at measures to ensure consistency in grading, in accordance with a larger national movement. What could it mean for schools?
You said recently that districts should lower class sizes because it would address a lot of issues like low achievement, discipline, and mental health. The problem with your solution is there …
Charter schools: good or bad?
The most concerning aspect of the Supreme Court ruling on student athletes' ability to profit while in college could very well be its effect on high schools.
For the last month of school, my child’s teacher didn’t assign any work. When I asked about there being no grades, he said the last few weeks were difficult because with testing and non-instru…
How can we promote a more equitable education for all?
Drug testing kids comes with high risks. The most serious is that it could break your relationship with your children at a time when they need you the most. Clearly it’s a big, bold, invasive step, so it must be carefully contemplated.
The best idea to help students academically and emotionally would be to hire more teachers and lower class sizes.
An opinion article called “7 Teacher Ideas for Supporting Students Who Aren’t Doing Any Work at All” has been making the rounds. On your Facebook page, you said the ideas were well-intentioned…
My children play video games. My daughter plays games on her iPad and my son has a game console. My wife thinks we should be more cautious about what they’re playing. I used to play a lot when…
We know that our educational system isn’t working for kids in poverty. How can schools help kids to avoid poverty, especially if it’s a cycle?
The job of public school coach isn’t exactly a fertile breeding ground for lofty expectations. It is a thankless job. However, most coaches manage to do wonderful work. Many seem to have endless energy for what they do because they love the sport, enjoy helping kids, and thrive on competition.
The Fordham Institute released a follow-up study to their grade inflation report which showed that students of teachers with tough grading standards and high expectations scored much higher on those end-of-course exams than students whose teachers indulged in practices associated with grade inflation.
If children know your rules, know that you’re fair, and don’t like the consequences for stepping out of line, they will soon rise to your expectations.
Positive character traits have to be instilled, cultivated, and encouraged.
The responsibility for paying attention rests on the listener.
Once again I’m reading that failures are way up. Teachers are telling me that the students who haven’t done anything all year will just be passed on to the next grade along with my kids who ha…
Educational funding is not unlimited. There comes a point where you can’t sales-, property-, or income-tax your way to a wish-list-based budget. We have to prioritize.
But the easiest thing isn’t always the best thing.
I’ve learned that some teachers and schools are experimenting with “going gradeless,” eliminating grades from classrooms and concentrating on learning. It could help with students experiencing…
My son is applying to a magnet school for the arts, and he needs an academic recommendation from this year’s teacher. We had a recommendation form automatically sent to the teacher, so I can s…
Unfunded legal mandates and over labeling are stressing school resources, hurting needy students, and driving special education (SPED) teachers away from the profession.
Ignore your friends and pay attention to two more compelling influencers: your eyes and your intuition.
A biggest problem with most block schedules is the 90-minute period. Adolescent attention spans aren’t what they used to be (and they were never very good to begin with).
Now that she’s a teenager, my daughter is becoming unbearable: lots of sass, backtalk, and tantrums. Most of the time she’s fine, but when something doesn’t go her way, she gets an attitude. H…
Parents are supposed to teach kids to do what’s right. Period. Children need us to stake out behavioral boundaries, not watch them wander into the wilderness beyond the margins.
Schools are built on the foundation of community, not individualization.
[Note to parents: hide this one from the kids.]
Our current math curriculum is impractical and does not prepare kids for the way we use math today.
Many experts believe Common Core Math is contributing to a steady decline in math comprehension.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
Tell your children they are wonderful, while also telling them everyone else is just as unique and wonderful as well.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
Students have many excuses when it comes to failing exams.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
The Teacher to Parent column is written by award-winning teacher Jody Stallings. The Q&A education articles run weekly in the Moultrie News.
Q: I’ve been reading about the “1619 Project.” Some school districts are updating their history curricula to include the material and many teachers around the country are teaching it. Is it a …
Jody Stalling's Teacher to Parent column is an opinion article series providing answers to parents' questions related to education.
Q: Since most public schools are opting to start the school year with more virtual learning, I’ve been reading about “Pandemic Pods.” These are where five or six families get their kids togeth…
