One of the best time-tested ways to build up the academic abilities of students is by creating teaching strategies that engage parents. When mom or dad (or both) gets actively involved in the classroom setting, it almost always leads to report card success. The publication School Community Journal even acknowledges, "There is a sizable body of research literature supporting the involvement of parents in educational settings and activities." Of course, getting parents involved in your class is no easy task. But today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray, who is also a technology teacher, outlines several ways that educators can engage parents in their classroom goings-on, including: Create a family-friendly environment Hold parent classes Communicate with parents And more! Overall, Jacqui notes that in addition to their classroom roles and teaching strategies, teachers need to be parent resources and that they need to be accessible to them. How do you involve parents in your classes? How successful is this effort? Learn more teaching strategies that will engage parents>> Top 12 Things You Learned In School That Your Students Won’t One of the most-commented upon articles we’ve ever published has been a rundown of the top 12 things that “older” folks learned in school that are now viewed as practically academically obsolete. Some of these endangered classroom species include: Cursive writing Typing Paper-based reference materials And more Are you fighting to keep these lessons alive in your classroom? What did we miss on the list?

Back in the day, multitasking was a badge of honor amongst educators. The more things a teacher could handle at once—grading papers, creating a curriculum, disciplining students – the better he or she was at the educational profession.

But that mindset has been eroded over time. These days, studies have shown that concentrating on one task at a time makes humans much more effective in any working environment, not just the classroom.

Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano  spells out the downfalls of multitasking. Jordan notes several common multitasking pitfalls, including:

• You’re more likely to produce errors
• Your creativity is diminished
• Your IQ actually decreases
• And more!

All in all, Jordan notes that teachers (and all other professions) should stop honoring multitasking, and quit pretending that it works: “Technically speaking, it’s impossible for our brains to do two major tasks at once. What we’re really doing when we think we’re multitasking is “task switching,” which means we alternate between tasks,” Jordan notes.

What are your tricks to increase focus and limit multitasking with yourself and your students?

Learn about the problems with multitasking>>

Yoga Pants & the School Dress Code

Dress code debates and figuring out acceptable attire have been around since the invention of school. Today, fashionable female students are donning Yoga pants, those tight, form-fitting-yet-comfy piece of apparel that pushes the boundaries of the school dress code in many districts.

In many circles, Yoga pants, spaghetti straps, bare midriffs, and the like are viewed as being distracting to male students, a point that is well-taken by many in the education field.

Still others argue that “dictating that young women change their appearance because they are ‘distracting’ men inherently objectifies them, and it teaches girls to be ashamed of their bodies.”

So the debate rages on. Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributor Jordan Catapano (also a high school English teacher) points out the arguments on both sides of the pantleg (his joke) in a great think piece that will get you to respect both debate teams. Check it out – it’s an excellent school dress code op-ed article.