May 18The Online Universe Is Killing Our StudentsAS A LONGTIME community college teacher, I have hosted a lot of end-of-the-semester parties that you probably wouldn’t want to attend. There was the party with nothing but a jug of orange soda, four bags of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and no napkins. …Social Media5 min read
Mar 15Guest Post by Basil Rana: The Truth Behind Perfect FreedomThis lovely essay was written last semester by my student, Basil Rana. Basil is taking a huge course load right now, and I know he is struggling to manage all of his responsibilities. If you have any words of encouragement for him, please share! — Professor Jennifer Hurley Attaining perfect…7 min read
Published in Ed-Tech Talks·Mar 11A Set of Values for EducationSo much of what we call education is small minded. Even something seemingly large, such as a student learning outcome, reduces a layered, individual human experience to a standardized bullet point. …Education2 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Dec 15, 2021Why Other Teachers Make Me Feel So LonelyIt’s the night before the department meeting, and I can’t sleep. Something about being in a space with other teachers makes me deeply uncomfortable, a feeling I am ashamed to admit. In my fantasy life, I am a team player, well liked, maybe even admired. …Education3 min read
Sep 29, 2021Why We Must Work Less in SchoolThe sociology professor was on Zoom presenting research about how students felt taking classes during COVID. The results of the research: Students were depressed, anxious, and totally overwhelmed by their workloads. One professor raised his tiny Zoom hand. “I don’t get it,” he said. “I always assign a ton of…Education5 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·May 4, 2021To the Teacher Who Said Half of Her Class Didn’t “Belong” ThereI have probably said this too, at one time, though now I am ashamed to admit it. The educational system conditions us to think that students must keep pace — -and that as good teachers, it is our role to must ensure that they keep pace. But you know what…Education3 min read
Feb 26, 2021Is School Anti-Learning?Is School Anti-Learning? More and more, I am coming to believe that school is a place that is, sadly, antithetical to learning. It is a place where students pretend to learn in exchange for a grade that certifies that they “learned,” and are thus qualified to move on in the…Education6 min read
Published in Age of Awareness·Sep 18, 2020Member-onlyThe Wrong Lesson that Almost All Schools Are TeachingWe must stop using rewards and punishments in order to motivate our students. I have believed this for years, but I have never felt it so strongly as last week, when I discussed intrinsic motivation with my community college English composition students. My Zoom class of 27 understood and could…Intrinsic Motivation3 min read
Aug 12, 2020Member-onlyRubrics and the Dehumanization of EducationI used to have a folder on my computer called “rubrics,” which contained over a dozen variations of rubrics for each writing class I taught. Some were point-based, others descriptive, such as the one below. I worked hard to craft these rubrics, taking care to make the language accessible and…Rubrics6 min read
Jul 15, 2020Why I Had to Give Up Grades or Give Up TeachingLike many teachers, I have spent countless hours trying to devise a perfect grading system, one that is equal parts fair and rigorous, that will reward students for hard work and punish certain behaviors that I saw as detrimental to my students’ progress. For twenty years I worked on this…Coronavirus6 min read