Should students know their CPA as well as their GPA? I’ve just finished reading How Children Succeed by Paul Tough, where he poses: “If you were a college-admissions director or a corporate human resources manager scheduling entry–level employees, wouldn’t you like to know which ones had scored highest in grit or optimism or zest?” “If you […]

In Wow! Adding Pizzazz to Teaching and Learning , I shared the story of Jacquelyn Sweetner Caffey, a remedial reading teacher who conducts last rites for the Late Mr. I Can’t. Her funeral service is designed to get students to reframe their thinking and focus on learning. Recently, I was working with Cluster VII administrators […]

I recently presented a workshop for teachers at each of the middle schools in Vineland, New Jersey. My session was titled, “Attitudes and Their Impact on Morale and Student Achievement”. I asked teachers to examine how their optimism impacted student learning and to what extent they thought they should have optimism as an element of […]