Note: This article contains references to suicide and mass shootings. If it’s better for you to avoid those topics right now, check out one of our other articles.

I was on a walk last weekend and stopped to chat with a neighbor. She asked what we were giving my 17-month-old son for Christmas this year, and I told her that a miniature cutting board and toddler-friendly chopper made the list.

“A kitchen set? For a boy?” she asked. I could tell what she was thinking by the way her eyebrows shot up. Since I know her well enough to joke with her, I jumped in before she could.

“Domestic skills are important for boys too, Marnie!” I chided her, smiling.

She laughed, and we talked about how “rules” about kids’ toys have changed since her children were young. She conceded that maybe it would have been good to let

What is the purpose of assessment?

The purpose of assessment depends on a range of factors, of course. Broadly speaking, the purpose can be whatever the teacher wants it to be. Like pacing guides, apps, books, and more, an assessment is a tool a teacher uses to help students learn.

There are other forms (e.g., multiple-choice, performance-based, etc.) and types of assessment–benchmark, criterion-based, and norm-referenced assessments like the ACT and SAT, for example–whose purpose is often beyond the classroom. Many of these forms communicate to the families of students how that student compares to other students. These are usually age-based in K-12, so all third-graders can be compared. The utility of this form of assessment is fairly limited, useful primarily as a general ‘sense’ of how that student’s development compares to ‘what should be expected’–the expectation (or ‘standard’) being the performance of other children.

The trouble with these forms

In a successful strength observation, you will ask questions, expect unconventional answers, and learn about the students’ worlds. Searching for strengths in your students might seem intuitive, but it’s not. Since most of us educators were trained to identify students’ deficits, we have to actively work to identify their strengths. Pay attention to the following:

• Does the student work better independently or in a group?
• When does the student show excitement, boredom, more energy or less energy, frustration, or sustained focus?
• How easily do they initiate tasks, shift between tasks, and stay on task?
• Are they inspiring or motivating others?
• Are they creative in how they approach a given task?
• Do they leverage resources or social capital in a meaningful way?
• What was challenging for the student?
• What seemed easy for the student?
• What patterns did you notice throughout the observation?

After the observation, review your findings with the student.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education announced the initiative “YOU Belong in STEM,” which hopes “to galvanize the broad STEM education ecosystem . . . for all young people from PreK to higher education.” It recognizes the importance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education along with the role high-quality resources will play in expanding science literacy beyond a classroom’s zip code. 

When it comes to high-quality STEAM resources, countless teachers have already been stepping up to the plate to create the resources they need and elevate their students’ learning. These dedicated Teacher-Authors have then shared out their STEM activities through TPT for more teachers to use with their middle and high school students. Here are some examples of their engaging, rigorous, and inclusive STEAM resources that you can use in your classroom too. 

3 Fun STEM Projects for Middle and High School Students

Have your students lead their

Is your desk hiding under stacks of clipped papers that still need grading?

Up past your bedtime, scrolling through argumentative essays from a week ago that you promised to provide feedback for? 

Heard another student—in your actual, physical classroom—announce how much they hate reading and writing? 

I’ve been there. I’m not sure if I’ve met an English teacher who has not been there. Teaching high school English definitely comes with a unique set of challenges. But when I feel that kind of defeat setting in, as cheesy as it sounds, I think about all the reasons why I chose my content area and age group. Teaching high school English is truly the best. Here’s why. 

1. You get to shine a light on the ever-changing lexicon-of-the-youth.

Teenagers love nothing more than having their terminology stolen and dragged through the dirt by The Olds. “Oh, you like my drip? Thank

Very few of any of these closures took place at public colleges or universities. One big exception was Purdue University. It shut down four campuses after it purchased for-profit Kaplan University in 2018 and converted it to a public four-year university called Purdue Global. Most other public closures were small ones, such as the closure of a teacher training site at a local elementary school.

Closures happen for many reasons but generally involve declining student enrollment, which leads to diminishing tuition dollars, a main source of revenue for many colleges. Weak finances have cut off for-profit institutions from the federal student loan program. That suddenly prevents students from obtaining subsidized loans to pay their private tuition bills. Many small liberal arts colleges have struggled to attract students altogether.

The consequences for students at these shuttered campuses are enormous. Fewer than half of them ever re-enrolled in college, according to a