7 ways to connect with parents via texting

An abridged version of this article was originally posted in SmartBlog on Education.

Building the home-school connection is important for all school staff, but few realize the power of the tool in their pocket. Even if they don’t have internet access, most parents have access to cell phones. However, in many cases, most simply use their phone as a calling and texting device. It’s time to change that! There is so much more you can do with free and easy to use resources that will help you coordinate and connect with parents in powerful and exciting ways.  

1) LocaModa

LocaModa enables you to connect with parents using the same technology that is viewed by thousands at large-scale events such as concerts, gallery openings, fundraisers, inauguration events, and political conventions. LocaModa allows you to set up your board so you can reach out to parents and their responses are published real time to screens anywhere on any screen via texting or Twitter hashtags.  Go here to learn about getting a free school account.

Say goodbye to bake sales forever

One of the greatest joys of youth is their optimism. Every year school kids across the country optimistically believe they can change the world for the better. From collecting bottle tops to toys to food, children have a never ending desire to give.

Last Oct, the students of Osbourn Park High School shared the same level of optimism when they set out to buy 50 pairs of shoes for a near-by Title I school. The challenge they quickly faced was in how to raise the $500 needed to buy the shoes. In the past, the go-to-options were bake-sales, wrapping paper, cookie dough, and other classic fundraising ideas. A Google search for "school fundraising" shows one the endless fundraising options available to parents, teachers, and students. Every option, however, produces the same results: high time input and low money output.

What is Your Digital Status?

See all my cartoons at branzburg.blogspot.com

John Stossel hated school. Investigates unschooling.

In case you missed it, last week, John Stossel did a segment on unschooling as part of his “Education Blob” special.  In the segment he pointed out that the number of homeschoolers is on the rise nationally, a whopping 75% since 1999. This puts the number of homeschoolers in the nation about equal to those attending charter schools. He shares that the number of families that homeschool today for religious purposes is on the decline as the choice today is more likely to be the result of dissatisfaction with the government schooling system.  He informed viewers that compared to publicly schooled kids, more homeschoolers go to college and once there they do better than the other kids in college.

He brought an unschooled (a form of homeschooling) youth and a parent to the show to discuss how this option works. He asked, "What would happened if children wanted to veg all day?" He also shared that like many students, he hated school and if he had the choice he would have just watched TV all day.  Considering that his profession ended up being that of a TV personality, his instincts to do so, may not have been off!

More Reading. More Writing. More Engaged Citizens of the World.

By Sarah Mulhern Gross. Cross posted on March 6, 2013 on The Reading Zone

Cum hoc non propter hoc.

In last week’s NY Daily News, Robert Pondiscio, a former public school teacher and now the executive director of CitizenshipFirst, lauds the "… abandoning the literacy curriculum used to teach a generation of our children to read”. In the shift to the Common Core, he says we are leaving behind the balanced literacy approach of Lucy Calkins and the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, which he says has done a disservice to students. 

Having taught at a Project school and at non-Project schools, I beg to differ.

The hottest posts that everyone's reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog this week. Below you’ll see the top weekly posts along with the number of pageviews. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired, share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Why College Kids Shouldn’t Act Like College Kids Mar 7, 2013	5275
Don't hide your online self when applying for coll... Mar 3, 2013, 1 comment	4278
When your child says, "Go to hell!" Mar 4, 2013, 2 comments	3760
Finally! Research-based proof that students use ce... Feb 16, 2013, 10 comments	3707
Random thoughts about first year teaching Mar 5, 2013, 1 comment	2574
This guy oversees the lives of children? Mar 6, 2013, 6 comments	2536
Children of the Core: American Students at Risk Mar 1, 2013, 4 comments	1362