Community College Calling – These Institutions Are More Than Just Affordable
Have you given community college a fair shake? As hundreds of thousands of high school seniors walk across the stage this May in Texas, some will choose community college as the next step on their educational journey. This affordable option may be the best fit for...
Learning by Heart- Teachers Use Positive Relationships to Reach and Teach Their Students
Imagine you are a student walking into a classroom. The teacher stands at the door and cheerfully greets you by name. She may say something personal like, “I hear you had a rough game last night. Are you okay?” Or maybe she says, “Thank you for being on time; I’m glad...
Drawing the Line: Public School Dress Code
Short shorts, baggy pants and spaghetti straps, oh my! School dress codes have been a hot topic since the 1960s, when girls wanted to start wearing pants and boys wanted to start wearing longer hair. Now that the weather is heating up and shorts are coming back out of...
Can Arts Education Find a Fit in Public Schools?
There are countless articles that address the educational merits of including art education in the public school system. With the emphasis of many schools being placed on standardized testing, some believe that if objectives are not measured in the test, they are not...
Mentors Help Students Develop Social, Academic Skills
It seems that every week there is a new article about research on what needs to be done to give kids the best chance at being happy and healthy and successful in school. While some people complain about “kids these days,” others wonder what they can do to help kids to...
Special Education is a Service, Not a Place
Why do people who don’t have a child “in” special education need to know about special education? First things first: there is no such thing as being “in” special education, because special education is a service, not a place. In days past, children with disabilities...
Quiet Kids, Loud Minds – Making space and time for the introverted child
Whether they like it or not, introverts are currently getting a lot of attention, in part due to the best selling book “Quiet,” by Susan Cain. People who would have never guessed they were introverted are scoring high on the online tests, leaving many to wonder, “What...
Kicked out of school and into what?
Suspension. Expulsion. Exclusionary discipline. Kicking a kid out of school is the most extreme form of discipline a school district can hand out, so you might think that the removal of a child from his or her educational environment would be reserved for the most...
Buy the book – Behind the scenes of Texas textbook selection
Ever wonder why Texas textbook adoption makes the national news and late night comedy shows? Why do people in New York have such strong opinions about what books Texas kids are studying? Turns out that the Texas textbook market, which serves the five million students...
After the bell rings: Making the most of out-of-school time
By Jennifer VanBuren The bell rings. Sophie packs up her bag and jumps on the bus. Mom greets her at the door with warm oatmeal raisin cookies and cold milk. After a short chat about their days and a few chores, Sophie takes out her math homework and mom is...
More than melody, benefits of a musical education
By Jennifer VanBuren In the live music capital of the world, music education is not a hard sell. Music enriches our quality of life, but it can also have a positive impact on cognitive abilities, intelligence and reasoning, the ability to focus and improve our chance...
Steer Clear of the Summer Slide: Enrichment programs preserve achievement levels
By Jennifer VanBuren The school bell rings one last time and the kids are free! Free to get out there and….what? Some families will take day trips to NASA, the Austin Zoo, Sea World or the Mayborn Planetarium, places that provide education in the richest...
