This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on January 14, 2013 7:15 PM.

19 teachers at Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington refused to administer the district required Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) to ninth grade students on January 9th. After many years of out of control high stakes testing in the U.S. it was bound to happen sooner or later. It was another example of some strong teachers who are putting the needs of their students first.

Sandy Hook students recently returned to school at a new location, with therapy dogs waiting and positive messages displayed on large posters throughout the building. The New York Timesreported that parents were understandably nervous and teachers were eager to return to their jobs, while simultaneously mourning the loss of their colleagues and students. One parent, Mr. Murray, said, “I was kind of happy, but I sort of felt like I was going to throw up,” in response to his son’s return to school. Through it all, staff, students and community members have shown incredible resilience.

Teach.com is proud to announce the launch of the Teach 100: an amazing new resource that ranks the internet’s best educational blogs. The Teach 100 utilizes dynamic technology to maintain a current ranking of educational blogs updated on a daily basis. Each blog is scored based on a variety of metrics--ranging from their social reach, the frequency of their activity, their Google authority, RSS activity, and more--to ensure a comprehensive score that assesses numerous aspects of a blog’s impact and reliability. The blogs are ranked in comparison to the scores of the other blogs on the list, and that ranking may change daily as the blog’s score changes.

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After months of failed negotiations, the United States Congress saved the nation from the so-called “fiscal cliff” late Tuesday evening as the House of Representatives passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 with a final vote of 257 to 167, averting automatic tax increases and indiscriminate spending cuts.

Current Benefits

One noted benefit of the legislation’s passing is the extension of the American Opportunity Tax Credit through 2017. Launched as part of the stimulus bill in 2009, the American Opportunity Tax Credit helps families pay for college by providing a maximum $2,500 credit annually to help cover the costs of book…

If you teach English as a Second Language (ESL) there are a plethora of resources on the Internet for curriculum development, job seeking, and connecting with other educators. One of the most popular web resources, by and large, is Dave's ESL Cafe, a free resource for ESL and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers all over the world.

Started in 1995 by Los Angeles multimedia consultant Dave Sperling, the site attracts millions of hits monthly. Having spent almost a decade teaching in Thailand and Japan before becoming a published author and multimedia consultant, Sperling strives to connect both teachers and students all over the globe. His site offers job postings, lesson-planning materials and discussion forums, among other resources. Here are some ways in which educators can take advantage of this useful site:

This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 30, 2012 9:35 A.M.

Every now and then we pick up books that help us find our way out of the box we have been living in. Some people read all year long. Others read in pockets of time throughout the year.

Which kind of reader are you?

I read mostly articles and blogs but I am always looking for a good book. As much as we may go searching for them, some of the best books find us. Ov…