http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/?rss William Maloney's Blog Sat, 18 May 2013 05:21:28 PDT en-us http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/1588/ http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/1588/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 PST American education is constantly undergoing various “reforms” as if tried and true methodologies are somehow ineffective and need to be changed.  Rather than incorporate new strategies, older strategies are abandoned altogether with the belief that educational reform requires the wholesale adoption of untried teaching methodologies. There are great and contradictory pressures at work in public schools.  There is the expectation that all students succeed and graduate on time regardless of... http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/719/ http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/719/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:00 PST When I read about the millions of foreclosure notices filed across the nation and the hundreds of thousands here in Nevada, it reminds me of the true price of an education.  Lately, as the weather has turned colder I think back to a foreclosure drama I witnessed years ago on my way to work, as a mother and her children sat on a couch in their front yard in a cold, drizzling rain. County sheriffs were busy dumping the last of their worldly possessions on the front lawn, where the furniture... http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/483/ http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/483/ Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 PDT We all want to make our children feel loved, yet sometimes our best intentions do not produce the desired result.  Too often parents confuse unconditional support (a very bad thing) with unconditional love (a good thing). The reason children may not legally exercise all the rights and responsibility of adulthood is that they lack the maturity and knowledge to make wise and informed decisions.  This is why children may not sign contracts or vote in elections.   Yet many parents feel that it... http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/139/ http://my.ccsd.net/wtmaloney/blog/139/ Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 PDT It is important to come to school with a positive attitude and a real desire to learn, because learning a first year foreign language involves making a concerted effort to memorize over 1000 words as well as the spelling, grammar, and pronunciation rules of the language with sufficient accuracy to be understood by a native speaker.  Learning a language like Spanish in a school setting also involves developing a set of basic conversational skills or BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication...