Rethink Learning Now

This year was very unique and it was something that we did not expect. Sixth grade was a challenge to us, because of the academic responsibilities that our teachers and parents expected of us. We had to keep up with school work and homework for three different teachers and as the seniors of the school we weren't prepared for this drastic change and strict rules of the sixth grade. It was imperative that shirts were tucked in, having silent lunches, no recess, and we had to be...

Mr. Ward created a 60-member chorus and a 60-member marching band from a small high school student body in a DOD (Department of Defense) school in Berlin, Germany, during the days of the 'Cold War' - and he did so in only 4-5 years' time. Mr. Ward was from California, and for military kids who identified each other by the state they were from, California was considered a beacon of coolness. It didn't hurt that Mr. Ward had a handsome boyishness about him, either, although he was...

"To the world, you may only be one person, but to one person,you may be the whole world."

Never was this quote truer than for one little girl -- me. I attended six different elementary schools, moved twice during my junior high years and transferred into four different high schools. In the absence of extended family, my teachers became my mentors. In the absence of a busy social life, books became my friends -- and the CLASSROOM was my whole world.

...

Most of my education was spent in long hours of frustration. I had learning difficulties from the very beginning. At the school psychologist's bidding, I was held back in the fourth grade. This did not help much academically and, even worse, I was devastated watching my peers move ahead without me.

I struggled through high school and upon graduation, hoped for college, but realistically expected a career in auto mechanics. Reaching for my higher education dream, I...

Thirty-five years ago, I was struggling to pass English. Last year I became a published author. How did I find my way from failing to where I am now? Someone took the time to "see" me. In the sixth grade, I had a third-grade reading level and a fourth-grade math level. I struggled with graphomotor skills, low active working memory, and attention issues -- none of which was really diagnosed at the time. Hardly a recipe for success in the classroom, particularly when my...

I'd always had a love of Chinese culture. Growing up in suburban Chicago, I heard, at an early age, my grandparents' tales of trips to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Then, when I was in middle school, my father started talking about his new Chinese students, fresh off the plane from Shanghai and Beijing. These students joined my family for Thanksgiving dinners, Passover seders, and 4th of July barbecues. Friendly and doting, they quickly became my role models.

When I started...

Waking up to the smell of a delicious concoction of Chinese herbs, I realized I had just passed out in an acupuncture clinic. I slowly rise with the help of Mrs. Jane Shlensky, whose shocked face was turning into a bright smile. I mumble a few words then we both burst into laughing.

Mrs. Shlensky is by far the most effective teacher I have ever had in my 23 years of life. When I went off to boarding school my junior year in high school I was lost in the rigorous...

A great teacher's lesson can give you goosebumps and, if you're lucky, mindbumps too.

Marlene was my English Teacher and Choir Director in High School. She was everywhere. If your jacket smelled like stale cigarette smoke, she would let you have it. In the classroom, she shined some light into your lazy, dormant, misunderstood, overactive, apathetic or whatever-other-state your adolescent mind might've been in, and actually got you up in front of the class to act out...

I entered the field of education along with my son, Aaron. When he entered kindergarten, I became a special education instructional assistant. After spending eight years team teaching among excellent and generous teachers and occupational and speech therapists, who enabled me to share in the actual teaching and utilize my creative side, I decided to go for my teaching certificate. My district believed in me and paid my tuition and salary as I went through an intense program....