The energy level in my classroom is higher than ever, students are more involved in shared decision making, and there is nowhere for the student who is just along for the ride to hide. Every child must take responsibility for a portion of their own learning. It has been a liberating experience for me and an eye-opening one as well.

Students ask every day if they can stay in this room just a little longer. The progress they make is personal to them. They come in every day and rather than having to tell them what we are doing, they tell me what they need to do next. I just have to keep ahead of them so that the road ahead has just the right number of potholes to keep them interested without being derailed completely. I no longer see my brightest students waiting for others to catch up. In just the last few days my most reluctant learners have discovered the delights of not being able to fail. They are working harder than they ever have, and yet think they are just having a great time. My mantra has been that the fun is in the activity, not the horseplay. Finally my last few holdouts have come on board with this.

There is not a magic bullet that will cure all the educational ailments we face in this new century. But eMINTS comes closer than anything else I have found.

Middle School Mathematics teacher