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The New 3Rs Academic Transformation
The Right Systems, The Right Resources, The Right People
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by Blaine Helwig
Dec 16, 20197 min read
It’s the Gaps, Stupid! – Part 2
Small Gaps Widen to Larger Chasms While hiking the 500-mile-long El Camino in Spain a couple of summers ago, a small pain ensued on the...
81 views
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 29, 20193 min read
Align, Teach, Practice and Do Well!
A middle distance runner competing in a 3,200 meter or 5 kilometer race practices and trains differently than a long distance runner...
49 views
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 17, 20194 min read
In Title 1 Schools, Facts are Stubborn Things
When I was in college, my statics and dynamic professor proposed a no homework versus a double homework wager to his students. He...
61 views
by Blaine Helwig
Jul 12, 20193 min read
Major Student Disruption – Identify Triggers, Plan, then Deescalate!
If you are a teacher, it will be impossible to avoid major student discipline problems. It will happen at some point in your career....
109 views
by Blaine Helwig
May 19, 20194 min read
Keep a Minor Student Disruption – Minor!
A couple years before I retired, I was teaching fifth grade mathematics at my Title 1 elementary school – despite the fact that I was the...
57 views
by Blaine Helwig
Dec 12, 20183 min read
Is Title 1 Public Education 'Working'? – Depends on Perspective!
I do not own a washing machine. Never have. I use the condominium laundry room with its ten washing machines and dryers to handle my...
132 views
by Blaine Helwig
Nov 28, 20184 min read
Practice without Improvement – A Title 1 Invariant!
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” This old joke is amusing and timeless because of the obviousness of its one-word punchline: Practice!...
102 views
by Blaine Helwig
Oct 25, 20183 min read
Bridge Resources and Their Academic Need
About 15 years ago, I attended weekly central administrator meetings as an elementary program supervisor in a large urban Texas school...
66 views
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 15, 20186 min read
Proactive Title 1 Principals: Active Management Supporting Teachers - Part 1
Over the last decade, Graham Elementary School in the Austin Independent School District's dramatic and sustained academic Title 1...
378 views
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 13, 20187 min read
Proactive Title 1 Principals: Active Management Supporting Teachers - Part 2
Above all else at a public school, the first priority of teachers and administrators must always be ensuring children's safety....
157 views
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 17, 20185 min read
The First-Year Teacher’s Cry – “Help! I Need Somebody. HELP!”
I was a first year teacher – TWICE in the same school year. I was hired as a second grade teacher, and I taught that grade level for a...
94 views
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 9, 20183 min read
A Title 1 Principal Can't Buy Academic Success
In the 1970’s, my father started the first Christmas tree farm in South Dakota. A slotted hole was dug using a long steel spade shovel...
41 views
by Blaine Helwig
Jul 21, 20183 min read
Student Management Redirection – Shorter is Better!
On my planning period, I walked down to the teacher workroom to check my school mailbox and make several Xerox copies. As I walked back...
49 views
by Blaine Helwig
May 5, 20184 min read
Why is Effective Title 1 School Reform Not Happening?
Federal and State money flows into the Title 1 public schools. The river of money flows regardless of academic results each school year,...
39 views
by Blaine Helwig
Apr 13, 20184 min read
Teacher Tips to Improve Homework Completion
“Andrew will not complete his homework.” “At least half my class does not do their homework, consistently.” “I have called the parent...
357 views
by Blaine Helwig
Apr 6, 20182 min read
Why Give Kids’ Homework, Anyway?
As both an elementary classroom teacher and a principal, a few parents each school year have questioned the modern need for nightly...
70 views
by Blaine Helwig
Mar 30, 20183 min read
Student Choice – Empowerment, but with Personal Responsibility
The choices made by students in their behavior have everything to do with their social and academic success in the classroom. Their...
58 views
by Blaine Helwig
Mar 2, 20183 min read
Student Engagement – Active versus Passive Learning
You are a public school teacher. You are about half-way through your science or math lesson. The door opens and the principal walks into...
1,685 views
by Blaine Helwig
Feb 23, 20183 min read
School Culture – What Does It Really Mean?
There are many industry specific words bandied about in public education that all too often, educators possess only a vague definition....
903 views
by Blaine Helwig
Feb 3, 20183 min read
Problem Solving - Not Learned by Discovery
Many State education agencies annual standardized math tests stress word problems in lieu of pure computation problems as they did 30...
67 views
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