Still, the matter is not settled. NASA engineers have been busy trying to “warp” the trajectory of a photon, to accelerate light. If you are considering travel among stars, this could be very useful knowledge. If you are a Star Trek or sci-fi fan, this research could tantalize your interests. In this season of solstice, with long, dark wintry days in the Northern hemisphere, light is very much on our minds.  During this winter break, I am considering science, technology, engi

As 2013 draws to an end, it seems like a  perfect time to reflect on what we have done this year to enrich the lives of others.  Consider your school. For school leaders who have been under pressure to meet standards and  improve academic achievement, December provides  a time to reflect on the past few months and consider a few questions about your school climate, the attitudes of students, and how well you and your students play together.  Here are a few questions for start

The holiday season can be exciting and fun, but hectic! All of us at the Center for Educational Improvement (CEI) hope that you find joy and peace among all the hustle and bustle, and we’d like to bring you a little extra light along with our seasons greetings. The video below is a heart-warming example of a junior high football team exhibiting compassion, courage, confidence, consciousness (awareness), and community (the five Cs making up Heart Centered Education, CEI’s sign

Below are four of the top education technologies that perhaps teachers used in your school last year.  To keep your students engaged, to keep yourself organized, and to stay relevant, we urge you to adopt or adapt these or similar technologies in your 2014 classrooms and schools. Diigo: A lot of research goes into lesson planning. Teachers identify new strategies and new information that they would like to reflect on or return to later. However, the information tends to get l

Founded by Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary, Operation Respect, Inc. disseminates educational resources designed to establish a climate that reduces the emotional and physical cruelty some children inflict upon each other by behaviors such as ridicule, bullying and, in extreme cases, violence. It is a unique organization that provides a gateway to broad scale adoption of school-based character education as well as social and emotional learning (SEL) programs.

On the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, CT,  CEI is pausing to honor the children, the principal, the teachers — the 26 victims who died– and to honor the Sandy Hook community as it strives to recover. In December 2012, in less than six minutes, 20 children and 6 adults were slain.  In under six minutes, a community’s life was forever changed. Senseless, Tragic Violence: When will it End?  At CEI, as with many across the nation, we were stunned by the sensel

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the next seven years over a million jobs will open that require specialized technology skills. These jobs are outlined as STEM occupations — technical jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As too few students are pursuing these types of careers, President Obama has articulated the need for STEM education, giving the ultimatum that within the next decade America must “move from the middle to the top of t

And from another author: “Seven miles offshore we meet our first ice. Closer in it is everywhere; there is often one floe ten yards to starboard and another just as close to port. These chunks are not pack ice formed from the frozen sea. They are splinters, dumptruck-sized, of larger icebergs. It’s impossible to guess just how much farther they extend beneath the surface.”  (Tuning the Rig: A Journey to the Arctic; Harvey Oxenhorn, 1990). Recently, a writer on the web (B.R.Go

Long before any understanding of neuroplasticity, many poets and musicians were aware of the healing and learning properties of music’”even in 1703. Fast forward 300 plus years and we’re having similar discussions, but science has changed the narratives.  Levitin’s ‘This is Your Brain on Music,‘ answers provocative questions like: What do pet scans and MRI’s reveal about how the brain responds to music? Or why is that in some societies singing is linked to the survival of a c

At the end of my three years at this school, I realized what I valued most highly was the healing that occurred with these students. I am certain that this work contributed to my vision of “heart centered education.” Today, as I consider the requirements on teachers and schools that are focused on high academic standards, I continue to reflect on the human dynamic that propelled students forward at this school. Indicators of progress. As a middle school teacher, I looked for