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Voices From the Field Challenge

By Jal Mehta — May 01, 2011 1 min read
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By Jal Mehta

No print version of Education Week this week, so no new commentary from our group until next week.

Instead, we are christening this “voices from the field” week. I believe strongly that wisdom lies close to the ground; as an academic, I always learn more when I’m in schools listening to people doing the work.

In that spirit, later in the week, we will hear from two principals from two of the nation’s most intriguing schools, who will share their experiences and comment on the implications for the future of schooling.

But today, we are asking you to do the same. Send me, jal_mehta@gse.harvard.edu, a post of no more than 5 paragraphs (500 word limit) that:

1. Describes a specific problem that you are facing (or have faced) in your school or related education organization (be specific!);
2. Tells us either a) what people on the ground are doing to solve the problem, or b) what it would take systemically to address the problem;
3. Say a little something about what this would mean for future directions for schooling.

Think nuggets rather than treatises -- that’s what blogs are good for. I’ll post the best ones on the blog this week or at the end of our run. This blog has become one of the most popular blogs on Ed Week, so it’s a good venue to share your experiences. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Jal Mehta is an Assistant Professor of the Graduate School of Education.

The opinions expressed in The Futures of School Reform are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.