Teacher Inquiry Gives Students a Voice Too
These teachers, by constantly tinkering together, have taken ownership of their classroom practice, and in so doing, given themselves and their students a real voice in what goes on. Read Full Post >
Recently in education reform Category
June 08, 2013
June 01, 2013
Is the Tea Party Right About the Common Core?
Although it may be hard for some education leaders to acknowledge, the substance of the Tea Party's criticism of common-core standards is solid Read Full Post >
May 31, 2013
John Thompson: A Bad Week for Anti-Union Education Reformers
I first recoiled at Arthur Levine's tired old vision of schools in his Education Week Commentary. Then I saw how out of place it was. Read Full Post >
May 23, 2013
Chicago: Time to End the Billionaires' Experiments With Mayoral Control?
Bill Gates suggested that in time teachers and voters would come along to see the benefits of the experiments the billionaire reformers want to do in our schools. That was four years ago - and the experiments have run their course. A research paper by Elaine Weiss and Don Wong took a close look at the results in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago, exactly the three cities touted by Gates as the petri dishes for his market-driven experiments. Read Full Post >
May 22, 2013
Paul Horton: Will Career Teachers Be Crowded Out by Corporate Reform?
The experienced teacher is the key: the conductor, musician, coach, and magician-of-motivation all wrapped into one person. Those who push the corporate education reform agenda do not understand or have forgotten what a great teacher does, so their solutions "crowd out" experienced teachers. Rather than investing in the human potential of teachers and students, they choose to invest in "bubble tests" and self-paced digitalized learning that are good for the profits of education corporations, but lousy for kids, parents, and communities. Read Full Post >
May 15, 2013
Monty Neill: Building Effective Campaigns for Testing Reform
Across the country, many local school boards, superintendents and principals have been speaking out against excessive testing. Parents, teachers, students and community groups should work with them to reduce the number of tests and any stakes attached to them. Those who still support the status quo need to be educated and, if necessary, pressured. In cities with appointed school boards, political pressure often will need to work through other avenues. Read Full Post >
May 13, 2013
Monty Neill: Building a Successful Test Reform Movement
Over the past few months, I've been involved in dialogues and public meetings aimed at furthering the testing reform movement. Our conversations focused on how to win key goals: less testing, lower stakes, and better assessment practices. In this post, I focus on basic goals and strategy for launching a campaign. In subsequent posts, I will discuss the importance of pushing for high-quality assessments, and then propose tactics to educate the public, develop strong coalitions, and persuade policymakers. Read Full Post >
May 10, 2013
John Thompson: An Improbable Tale of Successful Reform
Kirp then dissects the dramatic turnaround of the entire school system of Union City, New Jersey, and he shows how we can build great schools on the strengths of our democratic culture. Its answer did not come from technocrats from the outside, but from a local culture of "abrazos" or caring. Rather than firing our way to the top, Kirp shows that school improvement must come from trusting relationships. The secret sauce of Union City's success is "respeto," or respect. Read Full Post >
May 03, 2013
Steve Cohen: From Closing the Achievement Gap to Closing the Opportunity Gap
The kids who come to school with less get less from school. Closing the achievement gap with high-stakes, test-centric teaching combined with low resources, few opportunities and a lack of support has failed. The best way out is to close the mushrooming opportunity gap, create more equitable opportunities and gauge how well states and districts are doing to create those opportunities. Achievement follows from opportunities to learn. Read Full Post >
April 26, 2013
Jack Whelan: Can Humanism Prevail Over the Technocracy?
I have come to look at schools as a critical focal point in the fight for the soul of the nation. Our schools are foundational for our cultural life, and so much depends on our having a flourishing, humanizing public-education system. The battle over the schools is a microcosm of the battle that is going on everywhere else, but which most people feel too powerless to fight. Maintaining local control of our public schools system is essential for enabling even the possibility of such a fight. Read Full Post >
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