Now, this is good news: "Nearly two decades after a zero-tolerance culture took hold in American schools, a growing number of educators and elected leaders are scaling back discipline policies that led to lengthy suspensions and ousters for such mistakes as carrying toy guns or Advil," the Washington Post reports. Launched by the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, during a period when being tough on … [Read more...] about Schools rethinking zero tolerance
school policy
NASSP calls for social & mobile tech in school
We've turned a corner, maybe. "The National Association of Secondary School Principals is looking to change the conversation about mobile computing and social media in schools," TheJournal.com reports. This week the NASSP released a statement encouraging their use in the classroom to help "prepare students to be active, constructive participants in the highly connected world in which they already … [Read more...] about NASSP calls for social & mobile tech in school
When adults bully our kids
Just because bullying of children by children is in the news a lot doesn't mean it's new, growing, or done only by children. But it remains a problem – a very serious one for some children (see this ) – and "we will never address the bullying problem between our students if we don’t address it among ourselves," writes educator Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes in her blog. I … [Read more...] about When adults bully our kids
Toward social media tools in school
You all may have noticed I'm a strong proponent of educational social media in school – in the core curriculum, pre-K-12. Why? So students can not only collaborate in basic civic engagement (the class being a tiny community in which they're engaging) and maybe broader participation beyond the classroom, but also practice media, tech, and social literacy (citizenship) while they're in core classes. … [Read more...] about Toward social media tools in school
‘The No-Blame Approach’ to defusing bullying
Dateline NBC hit some key points about bullies and bystanders while skimming along the surface in "My Kid Would Never Bully." The show set up two pretty stereotypical scenarios (one involving boys in a gym and the other girls discussing fashion), hired two actors for each (one playing the bully and the other the victim), brought in 3-4 "real kids" who were the bystanders, and had parents and … [Read more...] about ‘The No-Blame Approach’ to defusing bullying