Humanitas Magnet for Interdisciplinary Studies
Library of Practices and Professional Development
Library of Practices and Professional Development
Our teachers are always learning new things and improving our program. We rely on experts in our field to inform our practices.
Our teachers are always learning new things and improving our program. We rely on experts in our field to inform our practices.
Every Kid Deserves a Champion
Every Kid Deserves a Champion
Watch this Ted Talk video about the importance of connection.
Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don't like.'" A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.
https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion
Community college should be a first choice, not a last resort
Community college should be a first choice, not a last resort
The Washington Post. July 16, 2019
Studying the Humanities Teaches You How to Get a Job
Studying the Humanities Teaches You How to Get a Job
Pacific Standard Magazine. Oct 12, 2017
Study: Boosting soft skills is better than raising test scores
Study: Boosting soft skills is better than raising test scores
The Hechinger Report. March 2, 2020
Chicago analysis finds schools that foster social-emotional development get better results for students
Teaching Isn’t About Managing Behavior
It’s about reaching students where they really are.
Teaching Isn’t About Managing Behavior
It’s about reaching students where they really are.
The Atlantic. July 24, 2020
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/07/reality-pedagogy-teaching-form-protest/614554/
Reality pedagogy involves connecting academic content to events happening in the world that affect students.
What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently
What Anti-racist Teachers Do Differently
The Atlantic. June 17, 2020
How to fix education’s racial inequities, one tweak at a time
How to fix education’s racial inequities, one tweak at a time
Politico. September 25th, 2019
At Pasadena City College, small changes are adding up to big advances in achievement for minority students.
Learning to See Students’ Deficits as Strengths
Learning to See Students’ Deficits as Strengths
Edutopia. September 17, 2019
Students don’t need to be fixed. They need teachers who make data-informed instructional decisions to match best practices to students’ needs. They need teachers who offer high support while holding them to high expectations by implementing appropriate scaffolds and rolling them back as the students demonstrate greater proficiency. And they need teachers who acknowledge their mistakes and engage in ongoing professional learning.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/learning-see-students-deficits-strengths
Teaching Kindness Isn't Enough
Teaching Kindness Isn't Enough
Teaching Tolerance. Fall, 2019
Focusing on the dream of an equitable future without teaching the reality of an inequitable present ignores the radical anti-racism work that King and his contemporaries undertook at great risk and greater cost. It paints the false narrative that kindness is all we need to make social progress. And worse, it suggests that kindness has already won.
https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2019/teaching-kindness-isnt-enough
Let’s Hear It for the Average Child
Let’s Hear It for the Average Child
New York Times. May 31st, 2019
School is the only place in the world where you’re expected to excel at everything, and all at the same time. In real life, you’ll excel at what you do best and let others excel at what they do best. For the rest of your life, you will never again think of this C, but you’ll bring your character and your capacity for hard work to all your future endeavors.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/opinion/average-child.html#click=https://t.co/i83gez1nz1
Community College Transfers Outperform High Schoolers At Top Colleges, So Why Do We Ignore Them?
Community College Transfers Outperform High Schoolers At Top Colleges, So Why Do We Ignore Them?
Forbes. Jan 30, 2019
Here are the facts:
The six-year graduation rate (a standard metric for four-year U.S. colleges) for students who transferred from community colleges to “most competitive” or “highly competitive” institutions in Fall 2010 is 75%.
The rate for students who enrolled directly out of high school is 73%.
For students who transferred from one four-year college to another, it’s 61%.
The bottom line? Transfer students from community colleges are the group most likely to actually graduate.
The Power of Expectations
The Power of Expectations
NPR. January 11, 2018
This short animated video highlights how our expectations of students can have a profound effect on their behavior.
Liberal Arts in the Data Age
Liberal Arts in the Data Age
January 15, 2019
What matters now is not the skills you have but how you think. Can you ask the right questions? Do you know what problem you’re trying to solve in the first place? Hartley argues for a true “liberal arts” education—one that includes both hard sciences and “softer” subjects. A well-rounded learning experience, he says, opens people up to new opportunities and helps them develop products that respond to real human needs.
Every Student Matters: Cultivating Belonging in the Classroom
Every Student Matters: Cultivating Belonging in the Classroom
Edutopia. September 4th, 2019
We can never take for granted the importance of our students feeling they belong. In a world that does not yet fully welcome everyone, schools can reinforce existing divisions or provide students a safe community that feels like a second home.
Report: Just One Accepting Adult Can Save an LGBTQ Young Person's Life
Report: Just One Accepting Adult Can Save an LGBTQ Young Person's Life
Advocate. June 27th, 2019
LGBTQ youth are far more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers — but acceptance can go a long way toward addressing that crisis.
A new report from the Trevor Project shows that just one accepting adult can reduce the risk of a suicide attempt by 40 percent.
Digging Deep Into the Social Justice Standards: Diversity
Digging Deep Into the Social Justice Standards: Diversity
Teaching Tolerance. Fall, 2019
Diversity is a beautiful thing. It should be explored and celebrated in classrooms. After we have come to better understand our individual identities, we can begin to examine the ways in which they do and do not overlap with others’ identities and lived experiences. There are many ways, large and small, to introduce concepts around diversity into your classroom and make it a welcoming place for all students.