Best Posts from 2011

As we begin the near year, I thought it fitting to glance backwards into the year 2011 and highlight some of our best educational posts to date. Some of the following articles made it into the list because they got the highest amount of traffic, stimulated the most conversation in the comments, or simply seeped an over-abundance of teacher inspiration. In case you are just entering the community of educators here, the following highlights will catch you up to speed . . .

Thanks, From Grade School Me. The comments from this post made me chuckle, as we all remembered what it was like to be a student in elementary school. As always, Amy writes with a perfect amount of humor and honesty.

Seventh Graders and Their Capacity for Compassion.  This true story from a middle school classroom was inspirational to everyone who read it. Kendal writes about how her students worked together to provide clean water for communities in Africa.

Top Classroom Management Resources. This post made the “Best Posts of 2011″ list because it continues to be the most highly searched post from search engines, generating the most traffic to our site. I compiled this several months ago, after scouring the internet to find tips and tricks to positively  manage the classroom.

Help. We post a lot of media throughout the site {like the poem from the African schoolgirl, the vlog from a bullied kid, or a Taylor Mali recitation}, but this inspirational video generated the most feedback from readers. It is a two minute clip of an Olympic runner who falls, and then gets helped towards the finish. It made me cry the first four times I watched it. Seriously.

Shame vs. Vulnerability. Elora wrote this thought-provoking post about the dangers of using shame as a motivator in your classroom. It had me thinking months later about my own discipline tactics– both with students and with my own children, as well.

The Gift of Sincere Compliments. This post generated a plethora of comments from readers, as Amy told the story of the power words had when she was a student in school. She provided the instructions for an easy activity that is guaranteed to raise the positive-meter in any classroom.

Why Character Education. While we are aiming to provide teachers with the encouragement they need in the classrooms, we are also committed to providing simple ideas for integrating character education into any day. This post outlines why we think character does, indeed, matter.  A lot. {Stay tuned for our upcoming list which will highlight the best ideas for character education from this past year, as well.}

One Spoken Word at a Time. This post told the true story of high school students who became connected and changed, through an open mic arts night at a local coffee shop. It’s a beautifully written account of education reaching far beyond the four walls of a sterile classroom.

Why Teach? Just one of my personal favorites, reminding us all the keep believing that every child matters, that every student has the potential for great good in the world.

How about you?  Have any favorite educational posts from the past year?  Would you share them by giving us the links {to a post you’ve written or read}?

Or {should you not have a link}, would you mind telling the community here what was one thing you learned about teaching from the year 2011?  We’d love to hear it.