It is application season for the various academies at Lutheran High School, where I teach and serve. I look forward to reviewing the potential candidates for the academy which I lead, Lights Academy. One of the challenges I continue to face with this academy is helping students and parents understand just what Lights Academy is and its clear …
Lights Academy Ranks the Presidents
My Lights Academy students, as part of their Government standards, collaboratively studied, analyzed, and ranked the presidents of the United States in order of effectiveness. Their work may be viewed on this site they created. Please note that they have created a response mechanism on the site for feedback for their choices. They would love …
Favorite Primer for Student Questions
I have participated in a number of Twitter education chats over the past few days where the skill of student questioning has been discussed. Those of you who have read my posts in the past know that I am an advocate for getting student to ask really good questions and then giving them permission to …
Tweet of the Day — 3.5.2018
Truth......courtesy of @BaldRoberts:
IEP Thought Conversation
As I was reading a professional book today, the following conversation took place in my mind: Why are IEPs for only a subset of students? Because they are a legal requirement for providing proper support for those students that qualify for and receive special education services. IEP stands for "Individualized Education Program", right? Yup So …
New Insight From a Student Blog Post
I love receiving new insights or new ways of thinking. To that end, one of my Lights Academy students created the following post on her personal blog that has me now thanking God for red lights. Sitting at a Red Light
Escaping Social Media and the Digital Cathedral
One of my favorite reads of the past couple years has been The Digital Cathedral, by Keith Anderson. This book shares the powerful reminder that our digital age provides many more opportunities to connect with others and serve them, even from afar. I was reminded of the importance of this over the past several months. A …
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Discussions About Screens Need to Address These Three Things
The discussions about screens (primarily phones, but tablets, computers, television, etc.) and their impact in our lives are ramping up. The number of articles and research projects related to this topic is increasing. And nearly all of these sources share news that is not good. We are becoming addicted to screens. They are hurting child …
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“I’ve Thought About….” and PBL
I have been working with my Lights Academy students on innovation projects -- projects that are designed to build on something already created or solve a problem in a new way. This is a concept that is often a challenge for juniors and seniors. Their typical school experience through the years comes from absorbing the …
Tweet of the Day — 1.29.2018
I saw this tweet and its accompanying infographic this morning. It is a fascinating post: How does this impact our classrooms? How does this inform the education we provide? What are your thoughts?