I tis important for educators to understand the potential barriers to both understanding and classroom performance of students. This article looks at 10 of the less common, ‘silent’ disruptors of student academic performance—factors that move beyond literacy, poverty, lack of technology access, and other admittedly powerful but already widely disseminated ideas.

Busy is likely the most common word used to describe the lives of teachers and many others. The author of this article believes that the word busy needs to be banned because it is having an adverse affect on our lives and it is particularly problematic in schools. He states that it is stopping teachers from moving forward and being productive and efficient because it is a word we can throw out there and be done with. Read more here.

Angela Watson states that it’s possible to be a great teacher while still having a great personal life. But that requires knowing how to figure out what’s most important, do it well, and let go of the rest. Prioritizing tasks is the foundation of using time effectively and working more efficiently. Here she shares 7 strategies to help teachers do that.

As educational partners, teachers and parents (or guardians) share responsibility for the success of children. Keeping open lines of communication is essential to maintaining a relationship of transparency and trust. But when situations call for difficult conversations, teachers often become apprehensive. Will hearing negative feedback about their kids make parents defensive or supportive? How can teachers give parents the information they need to know but might not want to hear?

You've seen the topics in this book before -- but you likely haven't seen them all in one place, enhanced by the rich voices and wisdom of students. Everything in the book is based on extensive research: academic educational research, interviews with teachers, and, impressively, Wolpert-Gawron’s national survey of more than 1,500 students, grades 6-12. Student voices appear not just in the videos but in thought bubbles on many pages of this highly visual book. Start figuring out strategies in the book will work for you and your students. "If you’re hitting even a fraction of them, you’re really focusing on engagement. And your students will thank you for it."

Check out these three beliefs that may be limiting your leadership effectiveness and/or this list of 5 deadly beliefs that limit leaders. It what you believe about yourself, others, and events that governs your attitudes and behaviors.

We all know the experience of being overwhelmed by information, workload, emails, response-time-expectations and the like. It just never stops. There is a reason for that feeling. And it’s not just having too much to do and too many people needing something from you. With constant bombardment for attention, your brain gets tweaked…literally. Read more.

How many dreams are crushed when educators say no? How many missed opportunities cruise on by when we say no? How many teachers feel deflated when their Principal says they can't, won't, shouldn't, that would be too noisy, that's not part of the plan, way too big of a mess, uhhhhhh no. Why is no the default response? Educators need to be in the yes business, with students and with teachers!