Robert Ahdoot
Pa, from the "Little House" books, is THE MAN.
Who knew that in reading the Little House books at bedtime, I would draw such inspiration from Pa. His parenting/teaching style is stellar.
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Math videos and learning that inspire.
Welcome to an education blog dedicated to helping us connect to kids, and to all learners.
We all want kids to learn and to feel inspired. Ask them and they'll tell you: the surefire way to make elevated learning happen is to forge a meaningful human connection with them. Before we can address concepts such as math anxiety or other behavioral/learning/technological challenges we face, our foremost job is to connect to students as people. Then we all flourish.
These posts take a lot of time and effort to produce, thus they are not the most frequent in the history of blog-land. To receive new posts privately and securely to your email as soon as they're live, you're invited to join our mailing list at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 20, 2019
- 1 min
Podcast interview: Parenting Then and Now
Want a good conversation starter for fellow teachers and parents? It’s easy and fun, and you probably do it all the time already. Simply compare what being a kid was like “back in the day” to how it is now, and you’ll set the room alight. Same with pitting parenting styles today vs. then, or what it was like as a student now vs. then. Certain parenting acts, for example, could be construed either as “motivation” or as “child abuse”, depending on the culture or decade. And as
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Robert Ahdoot
- Oct 16, 2018
- 4 min
Setting Values-Based Boundaries
Rules are a funny thing. We clearly need them, sometimes for the sake of others and sometimes for the sake of ourselves. There should be a policy, for example, prohibiting people from chatting in a movie theater. That type of rule benefits us, as moviegoers. And I support seat-belt laws, which have significantly protected people from death and injury, according to this study by the NIH. Then this other side of me kicks in. The one that simultaneously embraces mantras like “ma
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Robert Ahdoot
- Feb 16, 2017
- 5 min
Are teachers biased towards students? Yup.
(This piece was picked up on Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) Gulp, someone said it. As much as we take for granted that students are graded solely on their work alone, we know in our hearts that our personal biases towards each student can play a factor in how we assess them. If you’re an automaton who’s unaffected by your students’ behaviors and thus immune from human emotional trappings, please feel free to stop reading.
But if you’re lik
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 16, 2016
- 6 min
Lessons from Mister Rogers
(This piece was picked up on ASCD Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) (Special thanks to the Fred Rogers Center, for taking an interest in this article and sharing it with their readers, who also recognize Rogers' brilliance. Here is their retweet of Yay Math's article.) On May 1st 1969, a young and dapper Fred Rogers offered testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Communications. The far less known Rogers made his case before the initially brus
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 2, 2016
- 4 min
What video would say if it was watching us.
(This piece was picked up on ASCD Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) Hi. I’m an educational video. Check me out on YouTube; I’m everywhere. You probably know that so much has been written about me -- how I’m changing the face of education, how I’m revolutionizing the way students learn, yadda yadda. Yes, all that is true. But what you don’t know is how the world looks like from my particular vantage point. You may think that you’re only watchin
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Robert Ahdoot
- Aug 7, 2016
- 4 min
My truth: leaving the classroom, staying the course
With sheer exhilaration, coupled with some nerves and nostalgia, I decided to step down after 11 full time years in the classroom. The time has come for a change. Here's what's coming up for me, and for Yay Math. Where do I begin? Let's begin with the truth. Then more of it, then we'll close with the same. Indeed it's been 11 years. That's a lot of years. I began in my mid 20's to my now late 30's, from chasing girls back then to chasing two baby girls around the house now. S
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Robert Ahdoot
- May 2, 2016
- 5 min
Is email your tool, or are you its?
(This piece was picked up on ASCD Smartbrief Education, as it does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) To: myemailpractices@anyschoolusa.com CC: myproductivity@, mywork-life-balance@ BCC: myinnerpeace@ Subject: Some ideas to improve both of us – urgent Dear email, I hope it’s ok that I reach out to you about this; it’s been on my mind for a while now. I would do it in person, but well, you know… you’re email. I’ll say this once, and then we can move forward and figure this o
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 30, 2016
- 4 min
Everything you need to know to give the wrong commencement address
(This piece was picked up on ASCD Smartbrief Education, as does collaboratively on a monthly basis.) “Graduates: just know that if you work hard enough, and follow your passions, then you can do anything that you sent your mind to. Congratulations.” Quick, pass me the program so I can pretend to read it while zoning out until this guy’s done talking. Can you spot the main problem with this person’s well-intended message? Read through it again and see if something about it mis
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Robert Ahdoot
- Feb 26, 2016
- 4 min
Morsels of Inspired Instruction – On Praise
(Singular, bite-sized morsels of inspired education strategies that aim to be juicy, yet easily digestible pieces of teaching wisdom. I have always believed that the supreme way to establish inspired learning comes from the strong human bonds educators create with their students. What follows is a menu of ideas to help you usher in those connections. Enjoy. This piece was picked up by ASCD Smartbrief Education.) On Praise. For some educational and parental context, please fir
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Robert Ahdoot
- Jan 25, 2016
- 3 min
Morsels of Inspired Instruction – Sarcasm RULES
(Singular, bite-sized morsels of inspired education strategies that aim to be juicy, yet easily digestible pieces of teaching wisdom. I have always believed that the supreme way to establish inspired learning comes from the strong human bonds educators create with their students. What follows is a menu of ideas to help you usher in those connections. Enjoy. This piece was picked up by ASCD Smartbrief Education.) Sarcasm RULES. As in, it doesn’t.Last week in all my classes, I
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 22, 2015
- 3 min
Morsels of Inspired Instruction – Silence is Golden
(A tasty morsel of ideas in line with Yay Math’s debut published book, on the art of inspired and effective individualized instruction, coming in January 2016.) Renowned educator and prolific author Parker Palmer, in his book, To Know As We Are Known, writes of a fascinating way a history teacher created the space for students to take ownership of their learning: “At the first class, the teacher gave a detailed lecture. At the end of that session, with the students bending un
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Robert Ahdoot
- Nov 5, 2015
- 2 min
Morsels of Inspired Instruction – "Let me" vs "May I?"
(A tasty morsel of ideas in line with Yay Math’s debut published book, on the art of inspired and effective individualized instruction, coming in January 2016.) Any given educational exchange entails an exploration into power. Power, as in, is the teacher “in control” as the “authority” within the exchange? Yes, I used air-quotes to connote that what we traditionally know about power dynamics in the classroom is only somewhat correct. Master instructors improve upon this dyna
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Robert Ahdoot
- Jun 19, 2015
- 4 min
Why we shouldn’t glorify billionaires who dropped out of school
I love any and every American Dream story. Give me a “rags to riches” tale, or the iconic story of the lowly mailroom clerk working his way up the company ladder to become the CEO, and I will give you a juicy, single-head nod of affirmation. Even American car commercials that equate buying cars with our personal level of ambition rev me up sometimes, as does Drake’s song, “Started From The Bottom.” But somewhere along the road, this narrative takes a detour to la-la-land, and
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Robert Ahdoot
- May 21, 2015
- 7 min
How to go from "teacher" to "teacherpreneur"
In March, I shared my interview with lifelong teacherpreneur, Dr. Powell. He spoke of the sacredness that is essential for success in both education and business. Today, I'm going to dive into a framework for how to effectively bridge the gap between the role of teacher and that of teacherpreneur. These concepts have taken me years to develop, implement, and hone on the fly. Their usage has lead to massively positive results within my contributions as a teacherpreneur. It's a
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Robert Ahdoot
- Apr 1, 2015
- 14 min
Starting the conversation on teacherpreneurship - an interview with Dr. Bruce Powell
Entrepreneurship and teaching traditionally have been mutually exclusive endeavors. Entrepreneurism stirs images of the self-starting creator of products or services. This business-savvy person grimaces at the thought of being bound by systems or conventions, while also understanding that to be successful, he must strategically navigate those very systems. On the other end of the spectrum, the concept of “teacher” conjures iconic images of chalkboards, desks, walls, rambuncti
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Robert Ahdoot
- Jan 6, 2015
- 6 min
An open letter to parents
Welcome to 2015. This is an ideal time to take a step back together and reflect on our overall practice. We all know that one vital marker of our success rides on our ability to communicate effectively. Here and now, I want us to take the leap, and honestly address our communication with parents. The dynamic between teachers and parents has long been an under-scrutinized black hole, which inevitably defaults to teams of “us” and “them.” It’s time to extend our hands, and fina
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Robert Ahdoot
- Oct 13, 2014
- 8 min
3 constructs to "getting" our students
Picture a classroom full of students and a lone teacher, who is riffing on some personal opinion she or he has. Now picture the look on the students’ faces as they listen to their teacher. Do you see faces of engagement or detachment? Are they tuned in or glazed over? Do they agree, and if not, do they feel equipped to voice their disagreement, or to even challenge their teacher’s premise? The first images of student reactions we conjure tell us a lot. Perhaps they are flashb
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 20, 2014
- 4 min
Confessions of a now-dad educator, part 2
Teaching is parental training ground. Last week, I discussed how becoming a parent has begun to change my practice as an educator. This week, the question is reversed: has being a teacher prepared me at all for parenthood? YES!! In many cases, teachers and coaches are our children's very next line of guidance outside the home. I have had the good fortune of directly interacting with thousands of personalities, both in my classes, around my school, and through Yay Math's onlin
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Robert Ahdoot
- Mar 11, 2014
- 3 min
Confessions of a now-dad educator, part 1
It's different now. My first daughter just turned one month old. While having children was always part of my plan, I never knew how I would change until it happened. When I first went back to work and saw tens, then hundreds, of teens swarming around, something hit me. In my daily/nightly adventure spent caring for, looking after, monitoring, and tuning into my child, I realized that every student sitting before me was once a month old too, crying at 4 am, totally dependent,
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