Dr. Wayne Dyer famously wrote, “If you have a choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.” Since we know that acts of bullying have detrimental effect on young people’s self-esteem, it’s more important than ever before to teach children how to be kind, and why it’s so important. Much of what children learn… Continue Reading >

It is indeed though giving to others that we receive. This invaluable lesson must be experienced to be learned. It is critical for all students—our nation’s future leaders—to understand the value of giving and the benefits of selfless volunteerism first-hand. Even if you work in a public school system with a diverse population of students,… Continue Reading >

The holiday season is upon us. With so much diversity among the student body, it’s a good time of the year to pause and reflect upon how we as teachers can help instill compassion and the importance of service amongst our students. We recently asked some of our PLS instructors and team members to share… Continue Reading >

Ask a friend to tell you what she ate for dinner the night before, and your question is likely to be received with a pause and a shrug. Ask the same friend to name a teacher who greatly impacted her life, and she will likely respond with exuberant appreciation and a meaningful story. This month,… Continue Reading >

Online Course Spotlight: Purposeful Learning Through Multiple Intelligences™ — Accelerated In this four-week course, you will identify and apply the multiple intelligences (MI) to meet the needs of today’s diverse classrooms. Based on Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence™, you will demonstrate the power of teaching and learning through this unique instructional process. Gardner suggests… Continue Reading >

Steve Barkley continues to share ideas and insight into popular classroom topics on his weekly podcast, Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud! We are delighted to share three recent episodes that feature our very own PLS instructors. (You can download the following podcasts for free and listen to them anytime.) PLS Instructors Featured on Steve Barkley… Continue Reading >

In general, students love extra credit. For some, it’s an opportunity to make up for a missed assignment or a poor test grade. For others, notably the high-achievers, it’s an opportunity to excel at the highest level. However, is extra credit a strategy that is genuinely in your students’ best interests? Before you offer your… Continue Reading >

You may find your students tend to have innate abilities that align with analytical and fact based skills such as math and science. You may have other students that seem to have a predisposition to more creative skills such as art or writing. For example, you may have a student who writes gorgeous prose but… Continue Reading >

The most common disease affecting students today is not cancer — nor is it diabetes. The most significant disease, mental illness, affects 17.1 million students—more than the number of children and adolescents with cancer, diabetes, and HIV combined. The first week in October is Mental Health Awareness Week. It brings light onto the fact that… Continue Reading >

How many times in the day do you find yourself asking questions of your students, and then staring out into a room of disinterested faces? Or how about facing a group of students trying not to make eye contact with you because they don’t want you to call on them? There are many reasons why… Continue Reading >