About

J Taylor Education was established in February 2006 by John Gould. John has worked in the education publishing and consulting industry since 1998, running Educator to Educator for several years prior to starting J Taylor Education.

J Taylor’s main goal is to provide the classroom teacher with quality materials that aid them in creating the best learning opportunities for their students. Our professional development and consulting services are designed to inspire educators, and provide them with practical, classroom-tested strategies that can be used right away in their classrooms. We are unique in the sense that nearly all of our consultants are also current classroom teachers.

While J Taylor Education is best known as a provider of Gifted and Talented Education materials, we have branched out and are now concentrating on Mathematics and ELL Programs. We are currently working on a project that exhibits how our materials help teachers of EL students deliver challenging lessons despite language barriers. Several of the strategies in J Taylor products help bridge the gap between students learning the English Language and to express their ability to think critically and abstractly.

Perhaps most exciting is our journey into Mathematics. For the past decade, politicians and school officials have been continually citing an increase in Math test scores in the United States. When schools reach a certain “number” on standardized tests, they are recognized and rewarded in their home district and by the Federal and State Governments. In fact, we have been improving on our Math test scores. The questions that are not being asked and answered, and need to be, are “how and why?” An increase in test scores would seem to indicate our students are understanding Math better than years past. That should in turn lead to an increase in Math related jobs and better prepare out students and children for the increasingly and constantly evolving technological society that we live in. We have found this not to be the case. Instead, we seem to be wrapped up in a Math teaching culture where students are primarily taught to memorize algorithms and processes to score well on tests. While computation and memorization of algorithms are important to success in math, understanding mathematical concepts is also imperative. Making connections between mathematics and the world around us can exhibit how vital math is to our society. J Taylor is dedicated to changing the culture of how we teach and view Mathematics. We hope you join us on our mission.

Finally, we are looking forward to the 2009-2010 school year when we launch the Education Inspiration Initiative, or “EII”. With so many district requirements, the constant emphasis on improving test scores at all costs, and with the lack of job security in these tough economic times, J Taylor thought it would be best to try and make school, teaching, and learning exciting again for teachers. Too many outstanding teachers seem uninspired these days, and understandably so. It is time to reenergize and bring inspiration back to our Education System and we look forward to working with you to achieve that goal in the upcoming school year and beyond.