Why Is School So Boring?
Young kids are filled with curiosity, so I wonder why we design schools that seem intent on taking that hard-wired fascination with the world and stomping it flat.
Recently in Teaching & Practice Category
July 06, 2020
June 10, 2019
The Secret Source of Lost Learning and Educator Burnout
Teachers spend more than a third of their instructional time on tasks other than instruction. And that's before we add in paperwork done outside the classroom.
October 08, 2018
What Exactly Is Teacher Professionalism, Anyway?
"Teacher professionalism" can mean profoundly different things to different people. Fordham's Robert Pondiscio argues that the key to professionalizing teaching is to ask, "What do the kids do all day?"
September 04, 2018
10 Questions for Educators to Chew On
These questions can help parents get a read on school culture and values. But just as importantly, these questions can help educators think deeply about how they want their schools to work.
June 15, 2015
What Kind of Workplace Would I Like to Teach in?
A question that reformers should, but rarely do, ask themselves is what kind of school and system they would like to teach in.
June 03, 2011
Fairfax's Jack Dale on Overhauling the Teaching Profession
Jack Dale has served as superintendent of schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, since 2004. While leading perhaps the nation's largest high-performing system, he's pushed to get serious about teacher leadership and the oft-watery notion of teacher "collaboration." This week, Dale has penned a piece...
January 24, 2011
A Pleasing Dearth of Dogma
Hello, edu-land. Well, I'm back. Hope you missed be a bit, but trust no one missed me too much, as it's pleasingly clear that readers have found Dan, Roxanna, and Meira exactly as engaging and provocative as I do. As you've doubtless noted, all three of our guest bloggers are as likely to disagre...
December 22, 2010
The Trouble with Teaching's Circle-the-Wagons Mentality
Recently, I keynoted a state Teacher of the Year banquet and said what I tend to say at such affairs, which is that I don't romanticize teaching because--while I believe that most teachers mean well--the reality, I think, is that many or most benefit more from their role than do their students. (By...
November 17, 2010
The Teacher Residency Question
I've gotten a number of questions and comments regarding NCATE's big Blue Ribbon Panel report, both after my remarks at the National Press Club and in response to yesterday's post. Thought it worth taking a couple moments to expand and explain a bit, especially because teacher residencies are one o...
November 16, 2010
NCATE's "Transformative" Vision...Not So Much
NCATE's big report "Transforming Teacher Education Through Clinical Practice" is out today, and is likely to get the predictable hosannas. It's scheduled for a morning event at the National Press Club (I'm doing a bit of discussant duty), where the Blue Ribbon Panel's call for "radically" revising ...
The opinions expressed in Rick Hess Straight Up 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.
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