Tess Pajaron's Page

Arecent story on The Onion, the Internet’s beloved satire site renowned for its ability to pinpoint painful truths in its “fake news” stories, last week underscored one of the saddest dynamics of modern education. In “Inspirational English Teacher Cancelled out by Every Other Teacher at School,” the problem of teacher burnout is…

“Social entrepreneurs don’t just pursue a social end, they pursue that end in a fundamentally communal way.” –Sally Osberg, Skoll Foundation

In a not-so-distant past, college degrees were the safety nets that led to job security. Now those nets are riddled with holes, sagged down by the weight of so many recipients. And unless young professionals have something new to offer, awarding them some leverage back into…

Over the years, I’ve noticed how one question can change the dynamics of any situation. Everything might be moving along quite nicely at the dinner table, everyone’s happy and laughing but one question can send those same smiling faces into a frenzy of shouts and upset.

This also holds true in a classroom. Students may be working quietly and the teacher might be content but one question or comment from a student or the teacher can turn…

As children, young children, everything meant playing and art. We saw the world as a playground and a canvass. It didn’t matter whether or not we could actually draw. What mattered was the thrill of creating something beautiful.

We were all artists. We still are.

So reminding students that inspiration matters, that art lives and breathes inside every segment of education also means tweaking your lessons a bit. Switching your…