Laurus Educational Services' Blog

Professional development exists in most fields. However teachers are notorious for distancing themselves from their profession outside the school walls.

Certainly those who are reading this are likely not the teachers who are guilty, but it is hard to dispute the fact that many teachers have made little change to their teaching style over their time in the “profession”. We can all remember having a teacher who gave stencil after stencil and would rarely stray from the basic curriculum.

So what can we do to encourage our peers to get involved and continue their professional development.

Attached is a video called Teaching 2030. … Continue Reading

The ideas and suggestions presented in the Rethinking Mathematics by Gutstein and Peterson (http://www.rethinkingschools.org/ProdDetails.asp?ID=0942961544 suggest that teaching mathematics should incorporate Social Justice and Politics. It is suggested that no curriculum is truly neutral. They give the example of a teacher teaching multiplication to his or her students. The teacher may elect to use an example along the lines of “A child purchases 5 chocolate bars that cost $1.25 each, how much money does the child need?” vs. “A child working in a sweatshop gets paid $1.25 per day and works for 5 days, how much does the child make?”. The mathematics … Continue Reading

With added emphasis on application of math, not simply being able to complete the arithmetic, has come the emergence (or reemergence) of word problems. In Quebec, the reform math has introduced the notion of situational problems. These situational problems are word problems with more than just math attached to them. Designed to test the practical application of the topics covered in their courses, situational problems should be able to have multiple correct answers based on each student’s unique thinking. There has been quite a bit of debate about this style of problem for a number of reasons. The most glaring … Continue Reading

Finding interesting Language Arts activities for the beginning of the school year is a difficult task that all teachers face.

With new classes comes the different academic ranges, and just as the students adjust to the teacher, the teacher must get comfortable adapting lessons that can be used by the whole class.

One of the best activities that can be undertaken by just about any class, regardless of grade or level, is the creation of an ABC book. However, taking the ABC book to the next level, students can create the ABC video-book about their school. Groups of students are asked to … Continue Reading

More often than not, jobs will require their applicants to have leadership qualities and experience. Leadership can take many different forms and is not always a positive addition to the circumstance. Certainly leaders are those whom others look to for guidance, yet we cannot all be leaders. Some people were not wired to lead others, despite what their beliefs or extroverted personalities indicate. As the saying goes, “too many chiefs and not enough indians”. In other words, everyone is looking to lead the group, but no one wishes to follow. Without a conformed following, a leader may become a problem. … Continue Reading

Just about every child in the world is bombarded with children’s books before they can even read. Filled with magical tales of princess, talking bears, green eggs, and just about everything else under the sun.

The appeal of these stories is their often light and humorous plots that can initiate the use of one’s imagination. While very young, children are encouraged to read and write freely about what it is that sparks their interest.

By the time students reach grade four, this free reading and writing is quickly replaced with highly structured critical writing.

Writing is no longer a way to express … Continue Reading

Athletics has become so competitive that every advantage must be taken to compete at the highest levels. Elite athletes have turned to strict diet regiments to help compliment their training, and ensure that energy levels stay high and recovery is accelerated. The opportunity for them to gain an edge over their opponents is paramount to their success.

This interest in healthy diet and lifestyle is not a new phenomenon, but it has become increasingly mainstream over that last decade. Demands on players are higher and competition levels continue to rise.

The same can be said about academics. Just like athletics, academics requires … Continue Reading

With each year comes new students and new classroom environments. It is important that the classroom rules are set and enforced from the beginning.

Here are some useful tips from teachers to help create the best classroom environment for learning and fun!

• Let The Class Make The Rules:
  Allow the class to come up with the rules that they will have to follow. This is a particularly effective practice at the elementary level. If power is handed over to the class, they are more likely to feel a sense of responsibility when it comes to the rules.
• Keep Rules To A Minimum:
  For … Continue Reading

Most adults will be capable of reciting the names of many teachers they had decades earlier. Some could probably tell you what teacher they had and in what grade. As children we look up to our teachers as mentors, and role models. Though we may remember their names or what grade we were in, few teachers make memorable and lasting impressions on us. The kind of impressions that, 20 or 30 years later, we are still thinking about.

The number one characteristic of a memorable teacher is passion. Passion for their job, passion for life, passion for their students. Passionate … Continue Reading

For decades we have measured our students’ academic success by means of grading their work. However, more and more educators are encouraging a move away from this trend.

The belief (and perhaps rightfully so) is that too much weight is placed on testing and the grades often do not indicate the student’s true academic level.

For years standardized tests, such as the SAT or GMAT, have been criticized for their inability to adequately judge one’s intelligence level. Filled with cultural biases and obscure questions designed to only be answered by individuals brought up in certain conditions, these tests put an enormous amount … Continue Reading