Why Does Failure Continue?
I find the title of this blog interesting because as humans – I would hope that when folks perform poorly at some manageable task or...
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The New 3Rs Academic Transformation
The Right Systems, The Right Resources, The Right People
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by Blaine Helwig
- Oct 12
- 4 min
Instructional Coaches - What do they do all day?
Organizing large groups of people to efficiently complete any complex human task is challenging. In antiquity, for example, the Giza...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Oct 2
- 15 min
Bilingual Acquisition – Language Learning Tips
Due to age and perspective, adults immediately recognize that the mastery of a second language is an incredibly pragmatic and useful...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Sep 27
- 19 min
So, You Want To Be A Principal???
About twenty-five years ago, I was a passenger in a car returning to Austin. I was part of a three-member structural engineering team on...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Aug 20
- 21 min
Solving the Mystery of Poor Student Math Performance
NOPE! The usual suspects of endless blame are not the reason poor academic math results in American public schools. In fact, a...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Jun 30
- 4 min
Chocolate and Title 1 Academic Inequities
Awhile back, I attended a national charter school founder’s lecture about his experiences opening new schools across the country. After...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Mar 23
- 6 min
Emulate Before Innovating: COVID or No COVID
Every time we boarded an airplane to travel, my wife would open the airline magazine and complete the three levels of Sudoku puzzles: ...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Aug 14, 2021
- 4 min
‘Fix’ Fluency --- or, Comprehension ‘Breaks Down!’
Word fluency will drive comprehension proficiency since the students can read and not deplete their ‘CPU’ trying to decipher the most...
276 views0 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- Feb 7, 2021
- 5 min
Teaching to the Test - A Better Understanding of the Phrase
I have heard the expression – Teaching to the Test – for many years, but I had not deeply considered the thinking behind the phrase until...
258 views2 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- May 13, 2020
- 5 min
Distance Learning – Pandemic Lessons Learned
The pandemic has brought to light many underlying issues in our society. Some incidents were surprising; for instance, I was astounded...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Dec 17, 2019
- 5 min
It’s the Gaps, Stupid! – Part 1
The famous American political phrase, “It’s the economy, stupid” is attributed to James Carville and coined during Bill Clinton's...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Dec 16, 2019
- 7 min
It’s the Gaps, Stupid! – Part 2
Small Gaps Widen to Larger Chasms While hiking the 500-mile-long El Camino in Spain a couple of summers ago, a small pain ensued on the...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Aug 29, 2019
- 3 min
Align, Teach, Practice and Do Well!
A middle distance runner competing in a 3,200 meter or 5 kilometer race practices and trains differently than a long distance runner...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Aug 17, 2019
- 4 min
In Title 1 Schools, Facts are Stubborn Things
When I was in college, my statics and dynamic professor proposed a no homework versus a double homework wager to his students. He...
48 views0 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- Dec 12, 2018
- 3 min
Is Title 1 Public Education 'Working'? – Depends on Perspective!
I do not own a washing machine. Never have. I use the condominium laundry room with its ten washing machines and dryers to handle my...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Nov 28, 2018
- 4 min
Practice without Improvement – A Title 1 Invariant!
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” This old joke is amusing and timeless because of the obviousness of its one-word punchline: Practice!...
81 views0 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- Oct 25, 2018
- 3 min
Bridge Resources and Their Academic Need
About 15 years ago, I attended weekly central administrator meetings as an elementary program supervisor in a large urban Texas school...
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by Blaine Helwig
- Aug 9, 2018
- 3 min
A Title 1 Principal Can't Buy Academic Success
In the 1970’s, my father started the first Christmas tree farm in South Dakota. A slotted hole was dug using a long steel spade shovel...
37 views0 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- May 5, 2018
- 4 min
Why is Effective Title 1 School Reform Not Happening?
Federal and State money flows into the Title 1 public schools. The river of money flows regardless of academic results each school year,...
22 views0 comments
by Blaine Helwig
- Feb 16, 2018
- 4 min
Scoreboards, Performance, Practice and Reflection
The other night I was watching the latest release of ESPN’s 30 for 30 – a remarkable and interesting documentary series highlighting...
56 views0 comments