I don't know about you, but I've still got a student living under my roof, so I see flashcards in use from time to time at my kitchen table. (Yes, even in this tech-heavy age, even at the high school level, some of her teachers suggest that students memorize certain things by making flashcards.) Th... Read Full Post >
Dear Deborah, I am just back from travels that started in Boston, moved on to Chicago, then to Los Angeles and San Francisco. This week I will be in Dallas and Denver. Wherever I go, I meet many teachers who say virtually the same thing: They have never been more demoralized in their professional ... Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, Last Saturday's event—"Remapping Progressive Education"—was great. Someone remarked as I went into the auditorium to start the first session that they felt they had died and gone to heaven—seeing all their old colleagues from so many years ago. But there were far more ... Read Full Post >
Dear Deborah, As I write this, I am concluding a week of book-touring, and what a week it has been! I started in Chicago, where I spoke at DePaul University, the University of Illinois, Catalyst, and the National School Boards Association. At NSBA, I was in a concurrent session, but well over 1,00... Read Full Post >
Just minutes ago, we were telling you about how those assessment consortia are evolving in their bids for Race to the Top money. Now comes the news that Susan Gendron, Maine's commissioner of education, is leaving her job to help lead one of those consortia. The news left one state lawmaker lamenti... Read Full Post >
The leaders of the common standards initiative are pushing to make different common assessments comparable across states. Read Full Post >
About six percent of high school seniors in Massachusetts have yet to pass a science exam required to earn a diploma. Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, I wish you were going to be with us this Saturday as we celebrate the work we have accomplished over the past half-century and figure out how to counter the latest onslaught. Our friend teacherken quotes Les Leopold's question in his recent blog. "Why Are 25 Hedge Fund Managers Worth 6... Read Full Post >
Dear Deborah, In my book I argue that No Child Left Behind was a failed strategy. We both know the reasons why. It narrowed the curriculum; it introduced a culture of testing and test prepping into the nation's schools; it represented an unprecedented extension of federal control into the nation's... Read Full Post >
Dear Diane, Here's an essential question: When trying to get at the truth of things, what role do data play? Most of the time our "habits" take over before we can exercise any form of reflective judgment (which is why John Dewey focused on "habits of mind" as the goal of good schools). Habits are s... Read Full Post >
