Morae Classical Schools’ Post

Teenagers today seek relevance and personal advancement. The games they play and the social platforms they scroll offer streaks, followers, and ‘leveling up’ in very successful bids for their attention by giving them a feeling of self-importance, shallow as it is. For the ‘classics’ to retake the core of education, and I agree that it should, the systems of teaching and achieving mastery needs to be retooled to give our teens those same feelings of relevance and advancement. One of the biggest flaws in the traditional system is grading: marking down from 100% is a ‘deficiency-avoidance’ metric, not a growth metric, and keeping students under the pressure of ‘holding on to my As’ breeds anxiety and stress. Students want the 21st century skills pathway because it feels good. We need to rebuild the way the classics are taught and mastery is assessed if we want them to care more (and strive harder) about civics and math than they do about their social feed and gamer rankings.

The Erosion of Academic Achievement: A Wake-Up Call for Education As our focus drifts away from mastery and deep learning, students are being left behind. Superficial solutions and a reluctance to confront hard truths are replacing the meaningful academic rigor that once empowered learners. We need to re-center education on skills that matter—critical knowledge, problem-solving, and creativity—before it’s too late. The future depends on students not just learning, but truly mastering the challenges they face. https://lnkd.in/eZNKCA93

Some may say that offering students choice is a recipe for chaos. However, when students disengage, negotiating a middle ground can provide opportunities to practice decision-making and help connect their learning with their interests. One study revealed when students shifted their reading to choice reading there was "increased reading volume, a reduction in students failing the state test, and changes in peer relationships, self-regulation, and conceptions of self." Check the different choice suggestions across the year levels - https://lnkd.in/geK2iRfG

Don Berg’s Schooling for Holistic Equity is a masterpiece that deserves a place in every teacher education program across the U.S. and Europe. This assertion may seem bold, but after delving into his comprehensive 500-page text, complete with 60 pages of references, it is my genuine conviction. Berg's work addresses the deep-rooted educational inadequacies that stem from our disconnection with the Laws of Nature and our dismissal of the wisdom of our “pre-civilized” ancestors who lived according to them. His profound insights cover a range of crucial topics, offering clear explanations on issues such as the blindness of science to reality, the misunderstanding of motivation in psychology, the non-binary nature of truth, and the roles of joy and self-determination in achieving equity. Additionally, Berg critiques the many hegemonic illusions embedded in the K-12 curricula. With its thorough analysis and visionary perspective, Schooling for Holistic Equity is an essential read for anyone committed to transforming education. — Four Arrows (Wahinkpe Topa) a.k.a. Don Trent Jacobs, Ph.D., Ed.D., Doctoral Faculty - School of Leadership Studies, Fielding Graduate University (Four Arrows shared this review with me after being blocked from posting elsewhere.) Amazon:

How can we break the cycle of ‘maths trauma’ in education? Our Conversation article, just published this week with Tracey Muir and Sharyn Livy, reveals a concerning trend: negative experiences in the maths classroom can create a cycle of ‘maths trauma,’ affecting future teachers and their confidence to teach. What can we do to try and break this cycle? Prioritising mathematical wellbeing as much as maths learning. When teachers in the maths classroom focus on:
• Creating psychologically safe environments where belonging and risk taking are valued 
• Making maths engaging and relevant
• Embracing confusion and struggle as a learning opportunity We can potentially transform maths education for generations to come. Read our full article in The Conversation Australia + NZ to learn how we can support both teachers and students in developing a positive relationship with mathematics. #MathematicalWellbeing #MathematicsEducation #Wellbeing #EducationTransformation #TeacherEducation

It’s an interesting journey, this whole education thing. When we are open to new opportunities and meeting people, having conversations about educational philosophy and implementing change ideas, cool things can happen. I’m extremely fortunate to work for a VP that has been in education for 40 years. He’s the educator version of Dougie Howser. Despite his longevity, he continues to read up on all the cool initiatives happening within education. Just yesterday we had a conversation about Visible Learning and how it relates to Dave Brailsford’s philosophy of marginal gains. How mathematics educators have argued for decades over procedural fluency and conceptual understanding, but at the core we need kids to utilize the math practice standards to learn how to anaylze and think critically. I think the math education pendulum is shifting, but it’s going to take a few generations to truly see the impact of the Standard Revisions and CCSS. Most math teachers go into the field because they understood mathematics in high school, in a manner of teaching that is decades old. Younger teachers have a tendency to replicate instruction to model how they experienced it, and thus understand it. To truly teach mathematics at a conceptual level, those concepts need to be understood in a variety of methodologies. This requires a highly skilled practitioner. This is why being a lifelong learner is so important. It provides an opportunity for educators to continually adjust their approach as a means of increasing achievement. Student understanding is then at the core of instruction, not whether or not a topic was taught.

This isn’t a bad article, but I can’t help but think it misses the mark completely. Pay, recruitment, class sizes, and technology are not the reasons teaching us no longer a desirable profession. The problem is that the focus is on standards and content and not on helping the professionals do their jobs. Nothing damaged the joy of public school teaching in America more than the “all teachers are bad,” NCLB, tests are the only way to measure student success, Pearson empire, “Waiting for Superman,” Michelle Rhee, no CRT, through Betsy DeVos era of education. When teachers are empowered to inspire and instruct and students are valued as mitre than just numbers on a data sheet, teaching will once again become a desirable profession. ::::::::::::::::::::::::: The rich world’s teachers are increasingly morose https://lnkd.in/ech44d-T

Educators in the same school should proritize treating students as humans and assess mastering the material in a fair way. Not that they are 4 min late on an assignment and lose 20%. Not that in the same grade 9 English class, one class is analyzing and reading Othello and another is watching the movie version of the book. Not that one Algebra teacher gives a subjective class participation grade, while another gives extra points for coming to extra help. All true stories! Below shares why grades are very dependent who your teacher is and “what that teacher prioritizes and counts in a grade book.” Concerning.

📚 What do you remember about maths at school? Did you breeze through equations or feel lost in the numbers? For many, negative experiences with maths create long-lasting impacts, from poor "mathematical wellbeing" to full-blown maths anxiety. This can even affect future teachers, who often carry "maths trauma" into their own classrooms. A new study highlights how early shame and unsupported learning environments shape these emotions. If maths ever felt like an uphill battle for you, you're not alone. But the good news? With the right approach, these cycles can be broken! Read more about the research here 👉 https://buff.ly/3OQwBHu #mtbos #research #mathsanxiety #student #teachers

Fresh off the press this morning! I've always wondered about the long-run impact of programs like TFA. Does the reliable churn of teachers in an out of the classroom undermine student performance over the long-haul? My research suggests the answer is no, so long as there's a steady stream of recruits to replace the teachers who exit. The setting for this study is NYC, but similar research by the brilliant Sally Hudson finds a very similar pattern using data from North Carolina, increasing confidence the results showcased below are durable. https://lnkd.in/gn9BdyW2