A Better Path to Learning

Tag: parents

  • Trying to be Helpful, Yet Ineffective

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    Our personalized learning lab school got close to being named a XQ Super School back in 2016. XQ Super Schools were unveiled by the XQ Institute, a group financed by Laurene Powell Jobs. 18 schools, serving 14- to 18-year-olds, were selected based on what effective learning models should look like for high schoolers moving forward.…

  • Is the Laptop the New Worksheet?

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    It used to be that schools were criticized for asking students to fill out too many worksheets during their time in class. Now it’s schools being chastised for using ineffective educational technology that is not delivering desired results when it comes to student learning. In an article posted by EducationWeek last week (2/11/26), “The heavy…

  • Change or Die

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    I remember reading an article years ago titled “Change or Die.” The author’s big idea was to show how difficult it is to change your behaviors for the better. One story shared in the article was how patients, after having open heart surgery, returned to their same bad habits – smoking, drinking, eating unhealthy foods…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    It’s Friday the 13th. Time for the News Roundup. Progress on Chronic Absenteeism Has Slowed. Some Say McMahon Should Speak Up (The 74) ABPTL doesn’t do this often, but here is a shout out to the State of Alabama. According to The 74, Alabama serves as an example of how to get kids back to…

  • Cheated Out of History

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    It’s February, so we are celebrating Black History Month. Next month we will celebrate Women’s History Month. In May, Asian/Pacific American Heritage is celebrated. Pride Month is celebrated in June (notice that most public schools aren’t in session during June). National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from the middle of September to the middle of…

  • Supporting Learner Choice

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    School choice is surging, mainly because of the rise of state-sponsored money flowing away from traditional public school districts toward private schools and other educational costs. Funding pathways have expanded and it’s tough to keep track of all of the options available to families these days when it comes to making a choice different than…

  • Congress Maintains

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    Congress just passed an education budget for 2026. For the most part, the budget remains similar to 2025 expenditures. This action comes after a year of Donald Trump blustering about how he and Linda McMahon, his secretary of education, would dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Based upon the actions of House Speaker Mike Johnson…

  • Friday News Roundup

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    It’s a gray Friday in Iowa. Time for the Roundup. How a Notorious Maximum-Security Prison Was Transformed Into a Thriving Preschool (The 74) We talk a lot about “anytime, anywhere” learning here at ABPTL, but this story takes that phrase to a different level. Rhian Allvin was looking for learning space for her newly launched…

  • Struggle Not Failure

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    In my 35-years as a public educator, I never saw a young learner that “learned a lesson” from failure. Far from it. Instead, what I witnessed were young learners that doubted themselves as smart and strong, blamed their teacher, and at worse, gave up and dropped out from the learning game – after being labeled…

  • AI Positives

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    Artificial intelligence has the potential to serve as a transformative change in how kids learn. But today, many K-12 traditional school districts have banned its use in the classroom, along with cell phones and other forms of social media. Maybe it’s time to survey the news regarding how schools are using AI effectively when it…