Leadership
Content that enables educators, edleaders, organizations and families to increase capacity, apply a growth mindset and implement what’s next in learning on behalf of those entrusted to them.
Staff Picks: OER Debate, EdReform
Tom picks his article on "How EdTech Will Benefit Low Income Students" while Karen follows up with a similar discussion of OER with the article "Radical Openness in Educational Materials: The Next Step in Washington." Sarah highlights a guest blogger's post on Getting Smart that discusses the student-centered, subscription method to education.
Good Work: Gift Giving
Christmas is the gift giving day. Mission–related work is about giving gifts every day—contribution more than extraction. Gift giving, or mission-related work, is never easy and it’s never done--it responds to the most pressing needs in society. It is hard work, but gift-giving is the ultimate reward.
Staff Picks: Blended Learning, Smart Phones, EdReform, 21st-Century English
Tom picked blended learning as the topic of the year. Karen picks a review of the recent book Teaching Generation Text, which looks at the benefits of mobile learning in the classroom. Sarah picks Byron Sanders' response to the heated debate around Gene Marks' recent Forbes article, "If I Were a Poor Black Kid."
Good Work: Vacations
We all need a rhythm of renewal, emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual renewal to remain positive and focused, not once a year, but every month, every week, every day. Build positive habits into each day, read, write, play, and reflect. Stay connected to the important people in your life. Go out of your way to met new ones. Watch the sun go down. Stay fresh, stay challenged, and stay excited. If your work does not fit when you try to put it all together, go do something else. Life’s too short not to enjoy what you do.
Staff Picks: Hawaii, Digital Classrooms, Free Schools
This week, Tom picks blended learning and Karen picks Hawaii's Race to the Top. Caroline picks an article digital classrooms. Sarah picks Approaching the Elephant.
Good Work: Love & Work
Erik Erikson recalled that Freud was once asked what he thought a normal person should be able to do well. The questioner probably expected a complicated, “deep” answer. But Freud simply said, “Lieben und arbeiten” (to love and to work). It pays to ponder on this simple formula; it grows deeper as you think about it.
Staff Pick: Getting Smart, Vocational Education
Karen picks the top 10 headlines from Getting Smart this November. Sarah picks a Q&A from Nancy Hoffman's recent book on vocational education around the world.
Staff Picks: Enterprise, Charity, & Governance
This week, Caroline picked a Michael Horn book review, Tom picked a David Brooks column, Sarah picked a Fordham piece on school governance, and Karen talks about the politics of private giving in public schools,
Good Work: What Did You Accomplish This Week?
Source: Getty Images After college I started calling my parents on Sunday night. My dad would start the conversation by asking, “What did you accomplish this week?” Simple but frustrating, it called me to account. It made me ask if the world was a better place by an…
Staff Picks: OER Impacts, Learning Online, & the GS Community
This week, Tom picks OER. Karen picks technology as an efficient tool for learning in light of recent budget cuts. Sarah and Caroline pick YOU, our Getting Smart Community.