Heather Wolpert-Gawron

Marzano con’t & Corporate Sponsorship in Education

By heather on March 31, 2009

There’s a really interesting discussion thread going on at the Interactive Whiteboard Revolution ning. It all began with my post recapping Robert Marzano’s position on the influence of IWB technology when he presented at the CUE conference this year. You can

Teaching Secrets: Finding a Job That You Love

By heather on March 25, 2009

Know a teacher who got a pink slip? Maybe my newest post at Teacher Magazine can help. Click here for the article. It’s Step 1 of my Top Secret New Teacher Handbook. Hope it creates some shortcuts, a machete even,

Extreme Makeover: Classroom Edition

By heather on March 11, 2009

There’s been so much talk lately of deep-needed reforms for education, but we neglect just how powerful a simple makeover can be. I’m lucky to currently work at a school that has a patch of green, which fixes the broken

How to be an Ed Tech Advocate

By heather on March 7, 2009

OK, guys. So I got it from the horse’s mouth at CUE. According to the ISTE Director of Governmental Affairs, No Child Left Behind is not going away. In the weeks leading up to the election, the Obama administration

The Death of Teacher Conferences or I Can’t Believe I Miss My Canvas Bag

By heather on February 23, 2009

So, CATE (the California Association of Teachers of English) just came to an end. The hotel was lovely. All ran smoothly. We were greeted with smiles aplenty, and everything ran on time. Sheridan Blau, Kelly Gallagher, Carol Booth Olson, Taylor

Am I So Past My Prime?

By heather on February 21, 2009

Somehow, and maybe I’m reading into it here, I feel a little written off already. Education Week is reporting that some districts are pondering the possibility of “front-loading” new teacher salaries, increasing their compensation earlier in their career to aid

Fundraising Mafia

By heather on November 15, 2008

I’m being stalked by two of the tiniest, cutest 7th graders I’ve ever seen. Big eyes. High voices. You know the type. They are apparently the heavies for Yearbook, sent out into the wilds of 8th period to swing open

The Excitement Graph: Plot and Word Choice

By heather on October 2, 2008

Every year, I do this activity when teaching Narrative Plot. I’ve used it from 3rd grade to 12th grade. I learned a version of it first in 1993 at a UCLA Extension class on “Teaching Reading to Secondary Students” and

Should a free education be unconditional?

By heather on September 6, 2008

So you know when you get your group of kids on the first day, there are those who immediately set off your alarms? Well, that definitely happened to me on my first day. I have a student who clearly needs

NCLB? How ’bout B-studentsLB

By heather on June 21, 2008

NCLB might be losing the highest students, but it is also causing the loss of the middle-of-the-line student's electives.

Computer Literacy Support should not be Conditional: Joanne Jacobs comment

By heather on June 18, 2008

Supporting computer literacy should not be conditional. Joanne Jacobs challenges in her recent article, "Computers Don't Boost Poor Kids' Grades," that computers in many homes are only used to games and not for literacy. I say, it's a start.

It’s the End of The Internet as we Know It (and I feel…)

By heather on June 8, 2008

Is the Internet as we know it really coming to an end in 2012? Well, not if Google and the porn industry have anything to say about it.

Fundraising Stinks

By heather on February 7, 2008

With the passing of the nutrition laws in education, fundraising education now falls on the shoulders of the teachers. Maybe districts need to figure out how to fund their programs instead.