This year’s ASCD Conference in Los Angeles was weighed down by sessions about the CCSS and flipped classrooms – topics that reasonably should have been big 3+ years ago. But there were a few diamonds among the rough; educators who presented with prescient understanding oncoming issues that the education community must face. One of those […]
Cari Zall
Cari Zall has been a Social Sciences educator for over 12 years, in both brick & mortar and online environments. She currently works as the Curriculum and Instructional Support Manager for an online high school dropout recovery program, and is the Assignment Editor and a writer for The Educator’s Room, an online education magazine. Cari is certified in Gamification and has worked on several projects incorporating Gamification into online and traditional education environments. Her areas of expertise include Gamification and Student Resilience & Motivation; Conflict Resolution & Collaboration, and social justice education. Prior to her teaching career, Cari worked for 15 years in civil litigation and as a human rights activist in Northern Ireland and Washington, DC. She holds a BA in Conflict Analysis & Resolution, an Masters in Teaching, and an MA in Political Science. Cari is a James Madison Fellow, and is the author of the book, How to Finish the Test When Your Pencil Breaks: A Teacher Faces Layoff, Unemployment and a Career Shift. You can finder her on twitter at @teachacari.
Posted inFeatured
Necessary Freedoms: How the Little Rock Nine Still Teach Us
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Last November, I had the privilege to attend a conference of educators like myself, who work primarily with dropout recovery and dropout prevention programs. These are the students society labels “at […]
Posted inFeatured, Opinion
A Valentine for my Students
To My Dear Students, Past and Present: I know you don’t like mushy sentiment. You probably wouldn’t associate that with me anyway (I suspect that is one of the last things that come to mind if you think of me!). But I’m writing you a Valentine anyway because this is the week for it. So […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
Teachers on Trial: Vergara v. CA
On Monday of this week (January 27, 2014), the twenty-day trial began in the case Vergara v. California. This lawsuit not only takes on some of the longest protected education policy in California, it pits the very stakeholders who truly matter in education against each other: the students and the teachers. Education watchers will pay […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, Opinion, School Improvement
Despite What You Have Heard: American Students are Not 'Falling Behind'
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] This week saw the publication of the PISA scores – the Programme for International Student Assessment, conducted every three years by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) – which […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Featured, Opinion
The Common Core – Finding a New, Common Path
Embattled Secretary of State Arne Duncan recently dealt with renewed policy blowback after he made a backhand comment about parents who were opposed to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). He told a gathering of state superintendents that white suburban mothers are complaining suddenly because “their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, […]
Posted inFeatured
A Note of Thanks from the Editors
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] In this last moment before you (hopefully) head home for a few well-deserved days off, the editors at The Educator’s Room want you to know how much we appreciate you, dear readers! […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured
"Reform" Is Not a Dirty Word; Neither is "Union"
Last week I attended the 2013 National Summit on Education Reform. This is the nationwide conference put on by Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education. It was a rather last minute, unexpected opportunity, as I wouldn’t normally find myself amongst 850 state legislators, corporate curriculum companies, and all manner of other “reformers.” So it […]