Ben Slavic

Pity Potty

The next time you want to sit on the pity pot and complain about what a sucky job this is, go read this article in the 2016 issue of Time Magazine: http://time.com/magazine/us/4547305/november-7th-2016-vol-188-no-19-u-s/ Then go into your classroom and at least try to get a story going doing whatever works for you. We have work to […]

Pity Potty Read More »

Broken Record Technique

I am working with a teacher who is unfortunately in one of those “dramas” this week that we sometimes get into with parents when we try to teach according to the standard.  I thought I would share some of my communication with him here: He wrote to me: Ben –  I received a parent email

Broken Record Technique Read More »

Stuart Smalley

Al Franken as Stuart Smalley famously said this memorable line on SNL years ago: “I’m Good Enough, I’m Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!” Why did this particular line reverberate with so many people? What in it spoke to me as a truth? In my own situation, in spite of the way my

Stuart Smalley Read More »

Reading

Anne sent this question in today: Hey Ben – This discussion has probably been had on your blog and on the facebook page 100 times, but I’ve missed it, and I really want to know: When assessing reading comprehension, how is it fair to give an A to someone who is able to infer the

Reading Read More »

Kierkegaard

There is this quote from Soren Kierkegaard: “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” I connect this to what is happening in the CI world these days. I won’t say how. Just some food for thought.

Kierkegaard Read More »

They Just Want to Play

This is a repost from 2009: I was running this evening and passed a little league baseball practice. The kids, beautifully attired in new uniforms, were being spoken at by their equally decked out coaches about what to do in case a runner was on second, or some such schlock. The kids were way too

They Just Want to Play Read More »