I got a question from a group member today. The answer is very simple, but the emotional component is clouding the issue for this person. So comment freely, providing lots of love, to this: Ben,   I am going to check out Bryce Hedstrom’s alternate learning plan this weekend as I have three students from […]

I got this from Dirk about working with kids who struggle with the regular rules: Hey Ben – I have been cranking out this new re-shuffle of the weekly plan for CI.  I have had to accept the fact that at my school, which is essentially a behavior/spectrum disorder school, students are truly incapable of

As the new site gets ready to launch, I still need some testimonials with face pictures (more rectangular than up and down) if you want to do that. Just send them both to my email. Thanks for those who have already done that – very kind of you. I just haven’t gotten to the video

Carol sent this: Susan Gross and Laurie Clarcq will be presenting TPRS with levels 2-AP on Saturday, March 24 at Carol’s school in Pennsauken, NJ. For information e-mail Carol at  chill1019@gmail.com [ed. note: I have done this workshop and it answers tons of questions beyond the usual level 1 trainings.]

Should level 1 kids not read as much as we now think they need (50% reading)? Don’t they need a better vocabulary to read? Wouldn’t it be better to use more time in level 1 for the power skill of listening? Should kids in level 1 TPRS/CI classes perhaps wait longer – until levels 2 and

This is the text I have prepared as per my response comment to John in the post “A Specious Argument”. I haven’t sent it yet and invite corrections/suggestions from the group before I send it. Ms. Snow and Mr. Castagna – Hi! It’s Ben Slavic following up on our discussion of a year ago. Ann, when you asked

We must ask why the kids are erupting with answers to the detriment of our instruction. If we can answer that, we will have found one of the big keys to one of the big doors to this approach to teaching. Are they erupting because they can’t contain themselves? Or because they don’t see anyone stopping them?

As we continue to work towards better and better ways of representing what we do to others, especially parents and (often clueless) administrators, we would do well to perhaps memorize a few of these talking points pulled from the listserve by Jody today. Jody explains: Jeff Klamka from NY just posted this on the more.tprs

Often, we hear those who don’t actually use L2 in the classroom (or use it so little that it doesn’t have any results) claim that, since they don’t have “that kind of personality”, they are somehow excused from doing the hard work of learning how to implement, for real, comprehensible input in their classrooms.  This special kind of prideful ingorance, which

We have resolution to the major thread from a few weeks ago about the supervisor whose drop-in evaluation demanded output from our group member, if you remember. Here is how much good has come from that attack: Hi Ben, Oh happy day….Oh happy daaaay… I wanted to update you on the issues with my supervisor

I got a few questions from a group member. All are invited to respond. It’s a big ass question: Hi Ben, I just read the whole rebar/pqa blog posts.  Under Rebar 3 you state that some weeks you don´t even know what the day’s structures are going to be or what the story will be

After the classes we (a few principals and ELA people from the district and others were there – he had kind of an entourage) I was able to ask him about how much reading he felt was the best in a TPRS/CI type of class. I was trying to determine if my recent decision to