My kiddo came in one session totally defeated. His ninth grade Social Studies teacher assigned a book report assignment with a 2 page list of book titles that he could choose from. The catch? That teacher later told the students that those who chose a book that had over 1,000 pages didn’t have to complete the book report. Those whose books had less than 1,000 pages had to complete the book report. Shocked? Shaking your head? My student vented and shared this story with m

Part I- My "thinking out loud" on holding students back, having students move on to the next grade, or is there something else that will help students better? Before I get into this, let me give you a little backstory of where I’m coming from. Yes, the pandemic learning gap is real. Some kids learned at home with little supervision because many parents were also transitioning to work from home. They were not only responsible for keeping an eye on their children to make sur