Jennifer Miller Smith Of Mercersburg Academy On 5 Things You Need To Know To Be A Highly Effective Educator or Teacher

An Interview With Jake Frankel

Competency — It’s hard to care about something if you feel that you can never be successful at it. This isn’t about telling kids they are great at things when they’re not; it’s about high expectations and structures that encourage students to keep working to meet those expectations. When I first began teaching AP chemistry, I attended an AP institute led by experienced teacher Carol Brown. She made the case for allowing students to retake quizzes to improve their scores. I incorporated it into my classes that year and I haven’t looked back since. When students have the chance to improve their work, they do, as long as they believe they can do better.

As a part of my interview series about “5 Things You Need To Know To Be A Highly Effective…