Book: The Beginning Teacher’s Survival Guide

By Dr. Jane BluesteinAugust 13, 2021April 27, 2023 Assessment and Testing, Avoiding burnout, Avoiding power struggles, Beginning Teachers, Behavior Management, Behavior Management, Body and Brain, Books, Building responsibility, Classroom management, Creating community, Cultural Changes, Culture and Community, Discipline, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Feedback and encouragement, Health and Safety, Homework, Increasing Positivity, Intervening negative behavior, Leadership, Learning, Learning styles, Life Management, Mentorship, Modeling positive behavior, Motivating cooperation, Non-traditional learners, Parent-Teacher relationships, Problem solving, Professional growth, Recognition and reinforcement, Relationships, Rules and Boundaries, School climate, Schools in Society, Self-care and Inspiration, Social and Emotional Growth, Special Needs, Taking care of yourself, Teacher Appreciation, Teacher retention, Teaching, Teaching, Tolerance and Respect, Win-win authority avoiding power struggles, beginning teachers, boundaries, challenges for new teachers, creating community, difficult students, discipline, emotional safety, emotionally safe classroom, learning differences, parent-teacher relationships, positive consequences, professional development feedback, professional growth, professional identity, school culture, self-care, student behavior, student self-management, teacher retention, teaching

Win-Win Strategies for Success by Dr. Jane Bluestein At the start or your career or at the end of your rope… Get your teaching career off to a winning start—or recharge your passion for your work! The new & revised edition of Dr. Jane Bluestein’s pivotal guide for your teaching career! A great gift for new…

Homework Rating Scale

By Chick Moorman and Thomas HallerNovember 2, 2013May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents Leave a comment

A self-assessment for educators* By Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller *Note to Parents: Use this assessment to rate the value of your children’s homework assignments. The drive to assign more and more homework to children at younger ages is in full force in many schools. The desire to increase achievement and raise the test scores has…

Is Homework a Headache at Your House?

By Dr. Jane BluesteinNovember 2, 2013May 3, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching 1 Comment

At what point is the load too heavy? Note: This post comes from my October 2013 newsletter. The reaction was so strong, I thought I’d add it to the site. While I was back east earlier this month, I got to visit with my sister, Janice Patton,* and my niece Morgan, a freshman in a…

What About Homework?

By Dr. Jane BluesteinDecember 4, 2012May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching 2 Comments

Considerations for educators and parents I google the word “homework” and discover 70+ million results, many of them, on the first few pages, at least, pointing to websites offering homework help, tools, or information to use in assignments. Look for research and you can support just about any position you’d like! This is an issue…

Ways to Reach More Students

By Dr. Jane BluesteinNovember 26, 2012May 18, 2022 Body and Brain, Differentiating Instruction, Educators, Emotionally safe schools, Homework, Learning styles, Non-traditional learners, Parents, Special Needs Leave a comment

Accommodating a variety of learners While these tips were originally developed with regard to classroom environments, they are also relevant to parents (think about how and where kids do homework), and apply to learners of all ages. • Build on student strengths; teach to a variety of intelligences and abilities • Respect different types of…

Synthesis of Research Findings on Homework

By Chick Moorman and Thomas HallerNovember 26, 2012May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching Leave a comment

by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller Note from Jane Bluestein: An angry middle school teacher wrote to Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller, asking them to defend the research cited in previous newsletter articles, (two of which are included on this site in the links following this post). Although Moorman and Haller stated that the “burden…

Taking a Stand Against Homework

By Chick Moorman and Thomas HallerNovember 26, 2012May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching 2 Comments

by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller You know what’s happening with homework in American education. Simply put, more homework is being assigned than ever before and it is being assigned to younger and younger children. But is it good? More teachers are beginning to think not. Many professional and thoughtful educators across the country are…

Making Homework Work

By Dr. Jane BluesteinNovember 26, 2012May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching Leave a comment

Building Flexibility into Your Homework Policy Any teacher who has ever given out homework has certainly encountered a student the next day saying, “I don’t have my assignment.” Whether pitiful or indifferent, this admission often places us in the unfortunate position of asking why, which puts us in the even more unfortunate position of having…

Is Your Child’s Homework Worth Doing?

By Chick Moorman and Thomas HallerNovember 26, 2012May 20, 2022 Counselors, Educators, Homework, Parents, Teaching 1 Comment

by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller Note from Jane Bluestein: Here’s another terrific article about Homework for parents and educators. Check out my perspective in a separate article on this topic. Also note, the emphasis (boldface) in this article is my doing. The drive to assign more and more homework to children at younger ages is…

Some Kids Study Better When…

By Dr. Jane BluesteinNovember 19, 2012May 22, 2022 ADD/ADHD, Body and Brain, Counselors, Homework, Learning styles, Non-traditional learners, Parents, Special Needs Leave a comment

Noticing and accommodating your children’s learning preferences There are several ways to change or maintain our level of alertness and attentiveness. Even if your study habits are different from your children’s, it is possible that they will be able to concentrate and learn by