This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 15, 2012 9:15 A.M.

On Friday, every educator and administrator who is fortunate enough to work with students, regardless of whether they are in a primary or secondary school, had a piece of themselves taken away.

Every day in an elementary school is a good day. However, the month of December in an elementary school is filled with magic and excitement.

In their spare time students d…

The National Center on Time and Learning and the Ford Foundation recently announced their plans to help high-needs schools catch up on standardized test scores, as well as reap the advantages of electives and enrichment activities rarely offered to their students. The idea? With the aid of grant money, schools will lengthen the school day and year by approximately 300 hours. The anticipated start for the plan is the 2013-14 school year.

Our friends at Operation: Social Santa have made tremendous strides in ensuring that every child has a joyful holiday season. Since their inception in 2010, they have raised over 7,000 toys, operating in 38 cities and organizing far-reaching social media campaigns to rouse communities to action.

Operation: Social Santa is one of many nationwide holiday drives, and each plays an important role in meeting the needs of underprivileged families across America. People choose to give to different places for different reasons: some chose based on location, others chose because an organization works for a cause that is …

This blog was originally published on Finding Common Ground at Education Week by Peter DeWitt on December 10, 2012 3:09 P.M.

As an elementary school teacher I was required to provide homework to students every night except for Fridays. During school vacations we were required, yes...required, to provide packets of math and ELA to students. Every vacation I gave my first graders packets of dittos that they had to complete before they returned. I was young, inexperienced and untenured. I cringe at the fact that I provided that experience to students at such a young age.

There were times when homework took longer than 20 minutes.

Yes, I asked all the right questions.

This week, we’ve collaborated with Operation: Social Santa to spread the word about the importance of giving during the holiday season, offer advice for starting a toy drive in your school or community, and celebrate the joy that comes from making sure children have something to be excited for.

We've interviewed the founder of Operation: Social Santa, Harrison Kratz, to talk to us about the importance of giving, and Makefield Element…

Yesterday, Teach.com interviewed Harrison Kratz, founder of Operation: Social Santa, to kick off our week-long series about giving back during the holidays and how teachers can organize toy drives, food donations, and service projects to teach students the importance of giving.

In our interview with Operation: Social Santa, we learne…