In Teachers We Trust: Can Kids Count on You?

By Rebecca Alber

A while back, I wrote a post about how a great school leader has the trust of those she leads. Here's a question for teachers: Do we have the trust of those we teach?

A Look to the Future of Edutopia

By Edutopia

Today, we're announcing important strategic changes for Edutopia and The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF).

Guest Blog: Dealing with the Reform Bullies

By Betty Ray

Olaf Elch (@olafelch) is an ELT and intercultural competence consultant from Germany. A straight-talking and opinionated #edchat participant, he immediately emerged as a leader in the discussion of how teachers can play a part in educational reform.

--Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty) and Elana Leoni, Online Membership Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

To put it bluntly, teachers have a major image problem. Seen from the outside, teachers have excellent job security, long holidays, they aren't accountable for their performance and then to cap it all, they are constantly complaining about their pay and conditions.

It gets worse. Although teachers may be great at presenting information, they are not usually skilled at defending themselves against adversaries in the same way that politicians, journalists and business managers are. This means the teacher is holding a really bad hand when getting involved in emotive arguments like how to reform education.

Trends in Education: How They Come and Go

By Stephen Hurley

Over the recent holiday break, I took advantage of a free afternoon to organize my bookshelf. A friend who had read my blog post about my not fitting the ideal teacher personality thought that it might be fun to gift me with an electronic labeler.

Shared Smarts: The Wisdom of EduCon

By Suzie Boss

“What is smart?”

That question provoked intriguing responses from a panel of big thinkers during the opening session of EduCon 2.2, a conference that recently wrapped up at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.

Remembering Salinger and Zinn

By Edutopia

Some folks say deaths come in threes.

That makes me nervous. What with the passing yesterday and today of two great men of letters -- historian Howard Zinn and novelist J.D. Salinger -- I don't want to look at tomorrow's obits.

Guest Blog: Managing an Overcrowded Curriculum

By Betty Ray

We were particularly excited about this week's #edchat on the topic of how to manage standards and an overloaded curriculum. Brian J. Nichols (@bjnichols), principal of Hidenwood Elementary School, in Newport News, Virginia, provides a great big picture as well as practical perspective.

-- Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty), and Elana Leoni, Online Membership Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

Why School Leaders Need to Stay Put

By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

Today's post is about the nomadic ebb and flow of school administrators. The media talks a lot about the importance of good teachers, and I have no qualms about agreeing with that necessity.

Are Schools Responsible for Teaching Manners?

By Owen Edwards

"I look at [the tape], and I'm like, 'That is not me.' I have so much regret. I can't believe I did that. I let myself and my character not live up to what I should live up to and what I can live up to."

Guest Blog: 1:1 Laptop Programs: Shifting the Way Students Learn

By Betty Ray

We came across teacher Chris Ludwig (@chrisludwig) in this week's #edchat. Chris has a great tale to tell about his experience with classroom laptops.

--Betty Ray, Community Manager (@EdutopiaBetty) and Elana Leoni, Online Membership Coordinator (@elanaleoni)

I usually join the 5 p.m. MST #edchat on Twitter, but this past Tuesday (January 19), my colleague @boundstaffpress (Justin Miller) mentioned that I should tune in to the early version of #edchat.

The topic, laptops in the classroom, was one I follow carefully, because I run a science classroom with MacBooks for each student. So I multitasked while teaching and joined some of the #edchat discussion of whether 1:1 laptop programs are the future of education and exactly how such programs are changing education.