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What Should we want from Preschool?
In Tobin’s article published in LA Times today, I was taken aback by the title, What Should we want from Preschool? After President Obama’s SOTU speech earlier this month, revealing plans to move to birth-three the work of Head Start, so we can add rigor to the routines of 4 year olds, much debate will […]
Some Resources to Intervene on Bullying in Schools
Our colleagues at Distinctive Schools continue to share important resources for the work we all do. Here are some great informational pieces from NEA on Bullying (from NEA’s Bully Free Website): How to Intervene in a Bullying Incident-www.nea.org/home/53358.htm How to Identify Bullying- http://www.nea.org/home/53359.htm Confronting the Bullies- http://www.nea.org/home/43496.htm Harassment or Bullying of GLBT Students- http://www.nea.org/tools/6-Tips-Harrassment-of-GLBT- Students.html
Good Mentors don’t Trample on Big Dreams
Venture Capitalist Tony Tjan seems to take mentoring seriously, and with serious thought when he provides or receives mentoring to others. In a NY TImes article, he shared with Adam Bryant, some lessons he learned from Mats Lederhausen about mentoring as a starting point with a new “mentee”. I imagine that these questions are also […]
Homework and Homework Debates
The New Yorker recently published a little piece on Homework assigned to students (Louis Menand, December 17, 2012). Seems the President of France has the power to abolish Homework for school children. Apparently, President Hollande recently announced that he would do so for all primary and middle grades children. Imagine the delight of some. I have […]
Guns, Violence, and Schools
With the raging debate over gun control and the absolute reckless abandon we seem to approach such nationwide problem solving, has anyone thought to ask the kids? Specifically, school kids who have suffered directly or indirectly the problems of violence while growing up might have keen insights. In USAToday, journalist Marco della Cava delved into […]
Be Careful before Dissing AP Exams
Interesting article in NY Times about Dartmouth discontinuing providing credit for incoming students for their AP exam scores. Link is: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/education/dartmouth-stops-credits-for-excelling-on-ap-test.html?_r=0 Seems that questions remain about the rigor embedded in some (all?) of the AP courses and exams. NY Times is also running a blog on the subject, and comments are rampant and charged-up. Link to […]
New Research-Better Measures on Teacher Effectiveness
Gates Foundation has enabled new research on a better composite to gauge (and give feedback on) teacher effectiveness. A link to the study is: http://www.edweek.org/media/17teach-met1.pdf Seems that student feedback, test-score growth calculations, and observations of practice appear to pick up different but complementary information that, combined, can provide a balanced and accurate picture of teacher performance, […]
Common Core State Standards and Reading Assistant
Check out the product and performance behind, Reading Assistant if your K-12 school or school system is in the throes of shifting to the Common Core State Standards. Link is: http://www.scilearn.com/products/reading-assistant/ At a time when academic stakes are higher, we have at our disposal a tool to help tutor kids (through fascinating automation) to practice reading, […]
Helping High Schoolers Choose a College
Much has been written and debated about college going preparation and planning. We all have a stake in this with our young people. Frank Bruni, a NY Times columnist, provided some keen insight, and the pertinent excerpts are as posted here: So dig as deeply as you can into what the statistics that colleges showcase […]
To Educators: Happy New Year!
At her acceptance speech for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Ellen DeGeneres mentioned the following: “I never could have imagined that my life would end up this way. I didn’t think I’d have my own show, I didn’t think I’d end up being in movies, I didn’t think I’d have a talk show, […]
