[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”] A friend of mine, we will call him Mark, was considering teaching in two different charter schools this past spring. He had a clear first and second choice. However, his second […]
Current Events in Education
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Uncategorized
"TestingTalk" Website Where Teachers Can "Be Brave"
Education historian and activist Diane Ravitch was the keynote speaker at the 86th Saturday Reunion, March 22, 2014, at Teacher’s College in New York City. Introducing Ravitch was the high energy Lucy Calkins, Director of Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project, who took several minutes using her “teacher voice” to address the crowd with a litany of […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
10 Myths and Facts about Teacher Unions
I admit that I sign up for education haters’ email lists, and one thing that seems to be trending is differentiating truths and myths. Most recently in the cross hairs are teachers’ unions. It’s time you heard from someone in the field about some honest truths. Myth 1: Teachers are forced to join unions Fact: […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Opinion, Uncategorized
Scratching the Wall of a Condemned Cell: Teaching Humanity
“Tastes change; truths become clichés; whole art forms disappear. Even the greatest art’s triumph over death is risibly temporary. A novelist might hope for another generation of readers—two or three if lucky—which may feel like a scorning of death; but it’s really just scratching on the wall of the condemned cell. We do it to […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Middle School, Principals' Corner
Chicago Public Schools: Going too Far
Imagine if an unknown adult came to your classroom to remove a child to question them privately. This happened last week at two Chicago Public Schools. The unknown adults were from the CPS legal department. The classrooms they visited were rooms where the teacher had refused to administer the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT). Students […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, How to Fix Education, Opinion
How Effective are Responsive Classroom Strategies?
Try this in your classroom when things are getting crazy. Say in a nice firm teacher voice, “I notice six people are doing their work.” Watch what happens. I can almost guarantee that the room will begin to quiet, students will look around and start to work. You might have to announce a new, higher […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Uncategorized
Vermont Town Meeting: Holding Education Hostage
This is the story of how direct democracy in Vermont engages with the needs of education. A March 6, headline in the Burlington Free Press dominated social media: “It’s Official: 2014 is a Bad Year for School Budgets.” Reporter Molly Walsh, the supposed eyes and ears of education in Vermont, portends towards dramatic enthusiasm at […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, Uncategorized
Begin March Madness: Testing and the Smarter Balanced Assessment
[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”] March Madness is not exclusive to basketball. March Madness signals the season for standardized testing season here in Connecticut. March Madness signals the season for testing in 23 other states as […]