Featured
Shifting Focus: Executive Function in the Cerebral Driver's Seat
Kids don’t struggle because they’re not smart; they struggle because school demands more executive function than we tend to teach. EF is the system that helps students plan, focus, remember instructions, and adapt when things get hard. And the good news? It’s trainable.
Fractious Fractions and Recalcitrant Radicals: The Straits of Algebraltar
Algebra I is the single biggest academic chokepoint in U.S. education. Students don’t fail because they’re not “math people,” but because foundational cracks—fractions, ratios, executive function—widen into chasms. What happens here ramifies not only through students’ educations but potentially through their lives.
My Common App for an Uncommon Job
Every year, students are asked to write themselves into being — to explain who they are and how they got here. It’s a tall order, especially when you’re seventeen and the world keeps shifting under your feet. So I decided to do the assignment too. What follows is the essay I’d submit if I had to apply for the job of teaching your kid. It’s the story of how I became the kind of teacher who believes a single moment can change everything.
Reading is Fundamental, but Why Isn’t It Fun?
Students don’t hate reading; they hate not understanding. When texts outpace their skills, motivation drops, anxiety rises, and “I don’t get it” quietly becomes “It’s boring.” The problem isn’t attitude — it’s cognitive overload, missing background knowledge, and a school culture that mistakes decoding for comprehension.
Cursing the Cursor: The Myth of Writer’s Block
“Writer’s block exists in precisely the way UFOs exist—on the strength of belief. If someone believes—I mean really believes—then that belief matters, and if it matters, it’s real enough. That the words aren’t landing matters to the writer about to hit a deadline like a crash‑test dummy. It’s not whether writer’s block exists, but why.”
SAT vs. ACT: Navigating the Duopoly
A practical breakdown of the 2025 SAT and ACT revisions, what each exam now emphasizes, and how to decide which path aligns with your thinking style and pacing comfort.
The Truth About Test Optional
The truth behind test‑optional admissions: who benefits, who doesn’t, and why score‑submitters continue to be admitted at higher rates across every demographic.