No digital devices in sight The Los Angeles Times reported that California is coping, almost feverishly it seems, with new measures that require students to turn in digital devices before taking standardized tests. “The proliferation of cellphones and their potential use for cheating has prompted heightened security measures on this year’s administration of standardized tests in California schools.” In the previous year, students posted 36 questions from standardized exams on

When did things get so serious for middle-schoolers? A new Gallup poll studied factors related to student engagement, optimism, and well-being revealed that students scored relatively high on all these factors. Except when you examine the findings for middle school students: (italics mine) “Many adults are apt to blame hormonal and other life changes for the drop in student engagement at the middle school level, but that is not how students tend to explain it, he added. Inste

Image via Wikipedia Getting a bad grade, especially when you expected something else entirely, pretty much stinks. It’s hard enough being in high school when so much of your life seems to be defined by grades. When the grades don’t match up with your expectations or your output, it must feel lousy. Though I have issues with the idea of being defined by grades, we’re not going there now. So, you can either sulk or use this life event to get some feedback. Think of this as an o

Image via Wikipedia Picture this: a class of freshly minted teenagers, not even a year after becoming b’nei mitzvah, who attend an optional Jewish education program. Ostensibly they come from homes where the parent/s place an importance on Jewish values. Yet, despite that, they seem to have internalized society’s penchant for abdicating personal responsiblity. Over 90% of high school students cheat. Entire schools have been accused of tampering with test results. These incide

Freeflyer09. Use does not imply endorsement I read the article “Employees are faster and more creative when solving other people’s problems” by Daniel Pink with fascination. It turns out that we think more creatively and abstractly for others than for ourselves. The solutions are more concrete when working on things that affect us personally. What does this have to do with Jewish education? Plenty,  it turns out. I’d like to share just two experiences with you: 1. Recently, a