Columnists

Anyone who pays attention to K-12 education, even with an occasional glance, knows that the U.S. is obsessed with STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are the subjects we want …

Mark Garibaldi, Researcher with American Institutes for Research’s Health and Social Development Program, discusses his research in this growing and vital field in education.

A few weeks ago my friend Vicki Davis raved to me about how much she liked using Bloomz to communicate with parents. Last week I finally had the time to explore …

Mark Sylvester talks about how edConnecter has changed the interactions educators have during CEM and what we can learn about connected networks of lifelong learners.

Amy Peterson discusses research and the impact of multi-tiered systems of support in educational settings.

Now that I’m teaching college students, I often think back to some of my favorite professors and their teaching styles and try to incorporate them into my own teaching. I’d like to think there’s a lot to be learned from educators you admire. On the flip side of that, I can think of at least five professor-types I’ve been hostage to in my academic career that I don’t want to emulate, ever. You know the types: Everyone has at least one professor horror story.Here are five of the professor personality types that drove me (and probably you, too) crazy in college:1-The Personal Philosopher. And it’s not even a philosophy class. You know this guy. He seems to wander off into random thoughts, but aloud. He’s giving a linguistics lecture about Greek prefixes in the English language that turns into a deep one-way conversation about the root word “mono.” He offers the word “monogamy” as an example, then goes off on a tangent about its definition and whether or not this is the natural state of the human condition. “Is it ethically and biologically possible,” he asks aloud, “For human beings to truly commit to one person for an unforeseen lifetime, given unforseen circumstances and challenges? Who knows what lies ahead of any of us!” (The room goes deadly quiet. Clearly, there are some personal issues here and it’s getting kinda uncomfortable.)2-The Crusher. His whole mission in life is to mess with you and crush your GPA. It doesn’t matter if you’ve mastered the content, this professor is your transcript’s Alpha Dog, and he won’t let you forget it. He’s smarter than you because he controls the test, your grade, your future. His mind-blowing multiple choice exams consist of the usual “a,” “b,” “c” and “d” answers, with a few more zingers thrown in like “a and c,” “a, b and c” and finally “Not enough information provided to answer.” When you study, it feels like the facts are playing ping-pong in your brain. Your head explodes. That’s what he wants. He’s a firm believer in the Bell Curve, so if you manage to score a high grade on one of his waste-of-time “assessments,” he’ll bust you down to a C — “because most students are average.”3-The Professor who Slips in and out of His/Her Native Language, and It Isn’t Yours. This prof’s first language is not English, and that is fine. Diversity of culture and experience is an asset to one’s education. The problem here is a major language barrier that is impassable to every student in the room. This is the professor whose accent makes it difficult to understand what she’s saying, and yet, it’s a far cry from the confusion that results when she slips completely back into her native tongue, a little-known language that you can’t figure out. At that point, even recording the lecture is pointless. You’d find and pay a translator if you could figure out what language this professor is speaking.4-The Super Intellectual. Ok, professors are supposed to be highly intelligent and focused on one academic area. We get that. But this one can be heard discussing advanced microeconomic theory at Parents’ Weekend receptions. When asked what she does in her spare time, she discloses, with a wink, that her favorite crossword answer is “endoplasmic reticulum.” Who even does crosswords with answers like that? Directions to a local restaurant turn into a dissertation on the oppression of the proletariat. You try not to run into this professor outside of class, because it’s at least 30 minutes of your life you’ll never get back. You sit through her lectures not sure what to write down because you don’t have a clue as to what she’s talking about. Requests for explanation only result in more confusion. A teacher mentor once told me, “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” No doubt the super-intellectual professor understands it, but she can’t explain it simply. It’s just not in her Deoxyribonucleic Acid.5-The Quirky Professor. We’ve all known at least one of these. It’s the professor who defines “eccentric.” If your professor insists that you spell words like “licence” and “criticise” the way they are spelled Across the Pond — though she’s never lived in the UK, or when he shows up to class everyday with an empty tuna fish can that he uses as an ashtray (Yes, kids, back in the day, professors smoked in class), that is quirky. I once had a quirky professor who spent the entire Pre-Civil War American History course obsessed with every detail of the Salem Witch Trials “because the fungus that grew on the population’s wheat had simliar properties to mind-altering drugs.” This guy talked about almost nothing else for four months. We students had a theory that this professor was smoking something that didn’t require the use of a tuna can.Those are my scary recollections. Know any I may have left out?  

In his latest article, David Greene tells the story of a retired high school teacher named “Derrick” who became a substitute at a suburban high school.

I t’s an autumn ritual that has some parents defensive, tensed up and preparing for the worst. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Educators say there are steps you can take to make parent-teacher conferences productive — and pleasant — for you and your child’s teacher.Here are 5 things you can do to get more out of your parent-teacher conference:1. Prepare questions in advance. Write down what you want to ask and be prepared to take notes. You’ll want to focus not solely on the general (“How is my son/daughter doing?” “What can I do at home to help?”) but on specifics. Know particular topics your child has trouble with and ask for some tips that might help get past those hurdles. If your child exhibits strong academic performance, ask what you can do to sustain this at home and how to nurture her love of learning. And don’t forget that social skills are an important aspect of the school experience: Ask how your child interacts with other students in the class. The way your child acts at home is likely different from the persona your child is in a classroom setting.2. Arrive on time and leave on time. Seems pretty basic, right? But chances are, the day you had planned to leave work a little early is the day all hell breaks loose in the office. It’s Murphy’s Law. Do your best to make this event a priority, arranging for advance coverage at work if necessary. This also sends a message to your child that education is a priority in your house. Remember that there are other parents in line to talk about their kids, too. And whether you arrive on time or 10 minutes late, when your time is up, it’s over. Don’t turn your “few minutes extra” into a later schedule for everyone else.3. Make it a point to ask the teacher if there are any patterns in your child’s work or conduct that you should be aware of. Does he squint to see the board? Is she easily distracted? Does he turn in English work but neglect math? Ask about sleepiness in class. A high school teacher I know tells me that tiredness is a big problem among middle and high school students. “Many kids are up late on their smartphones, and Mom and Dad have no idea,” she says. This fatigue can not only affect academic performance, but for older students, can impair their driving as well. That’s a scary thought.4. If necessary, ask for future conferences or correspondence. While some teachers may teach more than a hundred students , most are happy to take the time to meet with or communicate with parents who truly want to be engaged in their children’s education. But teachers of older students advise parents to learn to work “behind the scenes” more: Put the onus on the student to complete assignments and make him stay engaged in his own education. As a parent, you can request that the teacher correspond via email with your student — and, if you deem it necessary, ask to be blind-copied on those emails as you transfer accountability to your son or daughter.5. Remember that you’re on the same team. Parents and teachers have shared goals: Both want their students to maximize their potential and develop a lifelong love of learning. Keep an open mind and realize that while your child may not be a genius, he or she has unique gifts and talents to share with the world. The teacher is your ally, not adversary, on this educational journey. Approach the conference in the spirit of cooperation and your child will have an unbeatable team on her side.      

Angela Maiers has been a leading educator and voice for students for over 26 years. Her breakout TEDx Talk launched her second act and provided the platform to build Choose2Matter, challenging and inspiring students all around the world. Her new book, “An Interactive Guide to Liberating Genius in the Classroom,” gives teachers a “how to” approach to genius hour. Maiers took time to discuss the importance of Connected Educator Month and shared her perspective on public-private-partnerships in US education.Angela Maiers has been creating and leading change in education and enterprise for 26 years, teaching every level of school from kindergarten to graduate school and consulting with companies around the world. Angela is the founder of Choose2Matter, a global movement that challenges and inspires students to work collaboratively to develop innovative solutions to social problems. She is an alumna of The University of Iowa, where she earned her Bachelor’s in Education and her Master’s in Educational Supervision and Reading.