Here’s the bad news: Looks like we’ve got six more weeks of winter ahead of us.
Here’s the good news: Our wintry sentence was conveyed by a most charming messenger–Punxsutawney Phil, the nation’s most celebrated groundhog.
Here’s the even better news: We’ve got some Groundhog Day fun facts to help you celebrate this, one of the more obscure American/Canadian holidays, with your students. Here they are:
When students struggle to read, they struggle to succeed. Watch this short video to find out how Imagine Learning is changing that for students at Eisenhower School.
This year, instead of committing to 365 days of staying organized, responding to emails within 24 hours, or grading assignments within three days, try something that’s more likely to lead to success: simply commit to one goal for 30 days. It just might revolutionize your teaching. Here’s why:
Staying organized is a daunting task for anyone, let alone a teacher who is trying to juggle so many things. But cutting down on classroom clutter and reclaiming the clear space on your desk just might give you the jolt of energy you need to tackle 2012 head on. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’re sharing one of our most popular posts from 2010. We hope you’ll enjoy both your holiday and this post from Jim Woolf about the power of language.
With the national holiday commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday approaching, I took the opportunity to listen to Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which I had never listened to in its entirety. Listening to that speech reminded me of something: I love language. I love words and the art of finding the perfect words to express the exact thought I want to communicate. I love hearing others use words to paint colorful visions, persuade my thinking, touch my emotions, and communicate truth to my soul. For me, language and the ability to truly communicate are very special and cherished gifts.
I lost that gift once, and it was quite a traumatic experience. 
I had an opportunity to live in a different country with a different language—one that I had studied for many years in school. I remember vividly the minute I stepped off the plane and heard the native speakers of the language I had studied. My first thought was, “I’m in the wrong country—this is not the language I learned.” I spent many months struggling to understand and be understood, and dealing with the frustration of doing neither very well. I eventually reached a moderate level of fluency, but I never came close to being able to express myself as well as I could in English.
During the time that I’ve worked for Imagine Learning, I’ve often tried to put myself in the place of children learning English as a second language. I can’t imagine what it would be like trying to learn concepts being taught in a language I mostly don’t understand. And that’s not to mention the social ramifications of struggling with your peers’ language.
So let’s take this opportunity to remember why we do what we do—why you teach children and why I work for Imagine Learning. It’s because we have the opportunity to empower children, to enable them to communicate, to eliminate a roadblock to their lifelong success—to give them a priceless gift.
