by Jackie Bowles Recently a 2nd Grade teacher, Brandy Young in Texas, went viral with her new “No Homework Policy” at Godley Elementary. Ms. Young says, “After much research this summer, I'm trying something new. Homework will only consist of work that your student did not...
by Whitney Ireland It’s almost October and ads for Halloween costumes and decorations seem to be popping up everywhere. Soon children will be running from house to house dressed up as ghosts, ninjas, princesses, pirates and more as they fill their pillow cases with candy. Then...
by Ashley Corbaley For as long as I can remember Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous saying: “Do one thing every day that scares you” has been my personal motto. I had the quote pinned to my corkboard in my bedroom growing up. I wrote it in school binders...
by Erin Weist Recently, I was reminded of a group of teenagers who reached out to my mom’s brother as a youth and with that small act of kindness drastically altered the life of their whole family for the better. I can say with assurance that...
by Mekelle Tenney “It’s human nature!” This popular saying is often used to justify behavior. Human nature, or men in the state of nature, was a topic that we studied and debated a great deal in college. And it is something that I have been thinking...
by Kindsey D. Smith Suzie looks down, fighting back the tears as her mind processes what her husband George (names have been changed) had just said. “I’m done being a father and I’m done being a husband” is something that Suzie never thought she would hear...
by Laura Friend I looked over at my 13-year-old daughter and felt that familiar well of love spring up from deep within my heart – my, she has grown into such a beautiful young woman, I thought to myself. We were on our way to see...
By Ashley Corbaley When I was younger I accidentally broke a very special family heirloom. After several failed attempts to fix the precious heirloom, I decided to replace it. The replacement, however splendid or similar to the original, did not and could not replace the broken...
by Christie Masters Not too long ago, while worrying about one of my children and wondering how to approach her and attempt to solve a problem, the two words “build relationships” were like a whisper to my heart. Every time the worry tried to take over,...
by Whitney Ireland It seems that we are constantly hearing about how far the U.S. lags behind other industrialized nations in education. After testing more than 510,000 students in 65 countries and economies on maths, reading and science, the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) administered...