Dr Flavius Akerele III's The E Team Education blog

“To improve their classroom-management skills, teachers are often advised to seek help from talented peers. To that end, we recently sent out emails and tweets to teachers asking: “What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received regarding classroom management?”” “Over 40 teachers replied with tips on everything from timed activities to relationship building. Here's a selection of their responses:” Read it all here: http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/10/14/cm_advice.html?tkn=YXLFg8Pkn%2BGLNZzj1Eqpx0r4NHi6w3gDHwyv&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2 Dr Flavius A B Akerele III The ETeam

“Google on Wednesday announced  a $3.2 million grant that four organizations will share to produce data-based research on how student veterans are faring in college. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families, Student Veterans of America, Posse Foundation and Veterans of Foreign Wars will study which colleges are the most successful at supporting student veterans, which campus programs have the biggest impact and how veterans' majors of study match up with employment opportunities. The resulting report will be made public, Google officials said, and the company will fund the expansion of programs that are found to be the most effective”. Read it here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/11/14/googles-32-million-grant-help-student-veterans I found this interesting and pleasing to see since there is not a whole lot of “tracked” data out there about this subject. A bit of self-promotion here, please feel free to read my dissertation on this subject (much s...

Alcohol is contributing factor to sexual assault on college campuses; there I said it aloud. Couple it with the fact that moderation is a scarce practice when it comes to alcohol on college, and you have the teenage stupidly (yes it does exists). The primary purpose of college is to educate (we can talk about college preparedness later), so you are not attempting to educate yourself accept at the bottom of a beer glass, you should make room for those who want to learn. This is not to say you cannot have fun at college, but the line needs to be drawn somewhere. “Academic Approach to Alcohol” “Beginning this year, University of Idaho freshmen will face immediate expulsion if their grade-point average is below 1.0 at the end of fall semester -- and whether or not alcohol is to blame, it's part of an effort to curb underage drinking”. “The idea may be unprecedented, student affairs officials and substance abuse experts say. But as part of a broader overhaul of alcohol polici...

It seems a popular tradition that crosses all countries and cultures of higher education; the classroom that is need of repair. As a teacher, it can be embarrassing, even though you do not hold the purse strings, and as a student, you wonder why there is a brand new BMW outside for one of the higher ups but the lights do not work properly. The article I am going to share speaks for itself; I am not judging any school, and I certainly not recommending teachers do this. However, you do have to admit this was clever: “Classrooms of Shame” “Leaky ceilings, dim lighting, roaches, mold. Those images don't evoke the ideals of higher education, but for the growing number of professors posting pictures of their rooms and offices to the social media feed called " Classrooms of Shame ," they're an everyday reality”. “Karen Kelsky, who runs the academic career counseling website " The Professor Is In ,"  and who is a former tenured professor of anthropology...

“Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day ) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice , signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning . ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. [1] ” “The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces...

I felt this article was worth passing around because the topic is one that often creates strong debate in K12 education. Whether you agree or not, we all need to pay attention. “Momentum Grows Against Zero Tolerance Discipline and High-Stakes Testing” “Across the country, resistance is growing against public education's increased dependence on high-stakes standardized testing and on exclusionary discipline, such as suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests. Whether from grassroots demonstrations, test boycott and opt-out campaigns, school board resolutions, or Congressional hearings on discipline, the message is the same: "Enough is enough!"” “Parents, students, teachers and communities increasingly recognize what the research community has already established: overreliance on exclusionary discipline and high-stakes testing does not improve achievement or make schools safer. Instead, these practices damage opportunities to learn, particularly for our most...

The subject of racism almost always opens a ‘can of worms’ in this country. When it comes to racism in education and society, I personally find that it is difficult to have honest and/or non-confrontational conversations with people in this country. If you think about it, civil rights for almost all citizens has only happened recently (within living memory), I say recently because 50, 60 years is not a long time within a 400 year history. We are not color blind, not by a long shot, although the next generation seems to be melding together better. Actually, being color blind and tolerant of differences is still just ‘passing the buck’; that is not healing the problem.   An article I read today got me thinking about how we deal with it in education, or do not deal with it: “Facing Racism” “Adding the element of race to a discussion makes people uncomfortable.  It is as if some illusive, powerful force has entered and takes up all the air. For all the hope we hold ...