Blogs on Student Engagement

So, I'm sitting in a workshop on vocabulary development listening to a bunch of research as to why kids lack the language to effectively comprehend and communicate. The largest factor (found by this specific research) that determines a child's vocabulary cache is . . . (Drum roll) . . . In-home communication between adult and child using rich language. No talking, no vocabulary -- makes sense, right? The more you hear it, the more likely you're going to use it, the more you're going to "own" it. It's the purest form of contextual usage. It's life. This makes total sense to me. As a teacher, writer, and father of a three-year-old, I'm always exposing my son to strong, healthy vocabulary. It's not rocket science; it just takes some extra effort to recognize those special times to work on vocabulary (I'm not using the term "teachable moment" here because working on vocabulary really shouldn't seem like a formal lesson; it should be as natural as a friendly conversation).

Note: Mary Kate Land teaches Montessori grades 4-6, and is the new facilitator for our Social and Emotional Learning group. She's got some excellent ideas and years of experience working with SEL. We hope you'll join us for some practical, supportive and inspirational discussions.

When I first began working in the field of Social/Emotional Learning more than twenty years ago, the term SEL had not yet been invented, and that made it somewhat challenging to talk with teachers and parents about promoting these skills. Since that time, the educational landscape has evolved to the point that most educators realize how important the psychological aspects of the learning environment can be for individual student progress as well as group cohesiveness. Though we'd like to jump up and cheer, this may actually be a more perilous situation for our field than the total obscurity we've thus far endured.

Editor's Note:This is the second in a two-part series by Elliot Washor and Charles Mojkowski, Elliot is co-founder of Big Picture Learning, a global leader in education innovation with 62 highly successful schools throughout America, Canada, The Netherlands, and Australia. Charles Mojkowski is a senior associate at Big Picture Learning. The majority of Big Picture Learning's schools are regular public schools, though some are in-district charters.

Some years ago I taught a life skills class to a group of eighth grade boys. The curriculum I offered wasn't working. They were disengaged -- they wouldn't read, write, or talk about what I wanted them to talk about -- and they were mounting a rebellion.