I have been thinking that fewer and longer structures might be a good idea. If we were to create a script with: couldn’t get up in the morning had a long discussion with instead of: got up talked with went then the result would be stronger rebar – the structures would be just bigger and easier […]

John sent this: Ben, In this article, the author is asking a very important question: is the admissions process at Harvard (and other similar universities) screening out the kind of student whose creativity will make a lasting impact on our culture, and for whom these universities want to take credit? Here’s just one quote, which

This 2012 article from Mark Knowles’ bio fits a current thread: I am now the Director of the Anderson Language and Technology Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder. I started TA’ing in 1982 and went on to teaching in 1990, and I’ve been in the field of Language Resource Centers since 1996. I

Jeff has a question connected to the When Attacked thread so I’ll add it here, with a few responses from us: Jeff’s question: A few of the kids I have say that I am going to slow for them.  They are of course the best of the best. Do you have suggestions to keep them

Ben, The subject of this email says it all. How do I handle a (so far) polite yet concerned email from a parent, concerning her child’s grade, who also alleges to be a Spanish teacher? She mentions that the student’s grade prevented him from honor roll and it concerns her. She says she would just

These letters by Bob Patrick and John Piazza in response to a professional situation Jeff Brickler has recently found himself in are directed to parents and administrators. They are for our use to use as we wish when we find ourselves attacked by such people. Thank you Bob and John! The first two letters are from Bob:

We have another situation and it involves our lightening rod for change, Jeff. Thank you Jeff for taking the voltage for us again. I think the Olympus based parents and administrators in your snotty parent community must be having fun with this, targeting you with those bolts of lightning. The only thing is that, unlike the gods,

Here is some quality reflection on Standards and Common Core from Laura Avila:  Our school is unequivocally in the direction of Standards Based Grading (SBG). The powers that be, aware of the strong, vociferous opposition to such a change, are doing their best to “take” us there in a gradual, most-stealthy way possible. However, the

Elissa has something going in Costa Rica for the spring: Hello fellow bloggers! For a couple of years I’ve been dreaming about teaching a CI Spanish course for adults in Costa Rica and it is finally happening! I am really excited! I could use your help getting the word of the course out beyond my

Sabrina just sent this letter from Dr. Krashen to President Obama, published today on the listserve, and thank you Sabrina:  A very short open letter to President Obama November 26, 2012 There is enormous frustration and dissatisfaction among professional educators about current educational policy. Many, especially those in the classroom and closest to the children, feel

I was communicating recently with Carol Gaab (President, TPRS Publishing, Inc.) about the idea of doing less reading in level 1 as per recent discussion here. My idea is to use as many of those precious 125 level one hours for nothing but listening, something Krashen didn’t disagree with when I asked him about it last

One of the great hells in life for teachers who use comprehension based methods is knowing that we are responsible for thematic units that are just boring. One of the worst of these is teaching classroom objects. How can we make that interesting? How can we fit them into a rockin’ story and have it not go