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The New 3Rs Academic Transformation

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Time is Mutually Exclusive – Educators Beware!
I am a retired educator, but I was a civil engineer and financial director before diving into public education in my mid-thirties. So, I...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 35 min read


17 Public Education Questions Requiring Candid Answers!
Over the last 3 decades, my passion has been analyzing the causes of educational inequity as well as dramatically heightening the...
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 205 min read


Fear of Failure Drives Change! (Or, It Should.)
Over the course of my life, I have engaged in deep thought about engineering, economic and educational processes; yet analytical thinking...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 27, 20246 min read


School Systems: Physical, Social & Academic Processes
This blog is very long, but I hope it is helpful to teachers, administrators and educational advocates. Due to its length, I have also...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 23, 202438 min read


Raising Outcomes: Dazed & Confused Continues!
Let’s begin our short chat with the reality of the professional world. When I was in my sixth year of teaching in 2001, my principal...
by Blaine Helwig
Jul 2, 20245 min read


Teacher Burnout – How to Stop It!
Professional frustration occurs in every job to varying degrees; however, I have never experienced the same levels of isolated...
by Blaine Helwig
Jun 12, 20249 min read


Autonomy Comes with a Condition!
Several decades ago, I attended an August meeting with the associate superintendent of elementary schools in a large urban school...
by Blaine Helwig
Mar 6, 20249 min read


Academic Turn-around (MATH) - 'Do What Matters!'
There is a companion white paper to this blog that includes an executive summary. An interested educator may find that short...
by Blaine Helwig
Feb 4, 202411 min read


Are You Trainable as an Educator?
Over the last four decades, I have come to realize that a myriad of qualitative evaluations are processed in real time during job...
by Blaine Helwig
Oct 3, 20235 min read


Impact of TEA's Open Education Resource - OER
In 2011, Senate Bill (SB) 6 was signed into law, and it permitted Texas school district administrators the freedom to choose their own...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 19, 202311 min read


Transitioning to the Digital/On-Line Testing World
The vast majority of states have moved toward digital standardized testing. They have done this for a couple reasons. First, MONEY! It...
by Blaine Helwig
Feb 21, 20238 min read


Math Fact Mastery - Easy to Do!
On July 20th, 1969, mankind demonstrated the ability to place men on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. This space journey is...
by Blaine Helwig
Dec 15, 202238 min read


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...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 27, 202219 min read


Atomic Habits – Repetition, Mastery, Pedagogy
After years of visiting Title 1 elementary charters and traditional public schools, I am constantly amazed at the minimal number of...
by Blaine Helwig
Sep 8, 20227 min read


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...
by Blaine Helwig
Aug 20, 202221 min read


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...
by Blaine Helwig
Feb 7, 20215 min read


Word Problems: Student Benefits and Effective Teaching Tips
The daily teaching of math word problems is essential if students are to become adept problem solvers. The consistency of a daily routine...
by Blaine Helwig
Jul 8, 20203 min read


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...
by Blaine Helwig
Dec 17, 20195 min read


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...
by Blaine Helwig
Dec 16, 20197 min read


Pick a Number. Any Number. Now - Why is that Number Important?
I am thinking of a two digit number between 30 and 40 that is both an even number and a multiple of 8. Can you guess the number? As...
by Blaine Helwig
Oct 7, 20193 min read
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