teachers
The Weight 2
On a sunset walk after a spectacular day on Poverty Bay with blue sky and fresh snow on the Olympics, I thought of three personal stories that illustrate the weight of leadership. 1. The afternoon I was appointed superintendent, I had coffee at the mall and watched hundreds of…
Motivation May be More Important than Style
Jay Mathews dug up a report that suggested there was little evidence “to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice.” I think most teachers would agree that it’s obvious that kids learn in different ways. But it’s fair to say that books like multiple intelligences was taken…
Educational Dilemma: Rigor v Relevance
We argue about testing in the US, but the focus on and stakes related to testing is much higher in China and India where the tip of the human funnel is the 12th grade exam; to a large life options hang in the balance. In the US, there are lots…
Belief + Acceleration + Effective Practice = Success
Paul Wezman changed my daughter’s life. He is an extraordinary teacher that in the mid-90’s was making full use of instructional technology. Here’s a note from him about the importance of our perceptions of what kids can do and the importance of effective instruction. He’s a middle school math teacher…
The Best of School: Lawrence & Zolynas
M. Scott Peck defines love as, “The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.” When I read that sentence on a beach after my first year as superintendent, I scribbled ‘teaching’ in the margin. What could better describe the work of teaching.
Augmented Reality will improve field trips
eSchool News posted a update on Augmented Reality. Here’s a couple snippets: This computer-enhanced view of the world is not just available to cyborgs in science-fiction movies. Increasingly, it can be found on cell phones, for free or on the cheap, through programs that provide “augmented reality.”…
How teacher pay should work
Kim Marshall’s December 16 EdWeek commentary attempts to “demolish the argument for individual merit pay.” He makes good points that suggest that individual bonuses based solely on value-added test scores are not a good idea. He suggests, instead, team-based bonuses and more pay for master teachers. There’s an…
Lapoesia, Neruda
I spent a couple hours this week thinking with a friend about how kids (and adults) decide what to do–where to go to college? What to do for a living? I reminded me of David Whyte’s work. Lapoesia (Poem), as David Whyte points out in a Heart…
The big switch to digital is on
Texas announced a massive English adoption of Pearson products–both print and digital. Pearson has been making a huge investment in curriculum development by making new Scott Foresman and Prentice Hall material available in both print and digital formats. It’s a big switch from the old days (like a year…
Lit Instructor, Stafford
In The Courage To Teach, Parker Palmer uses this Bill Stafford (former poet laureate of Oregon) poem to open a chapter titled A Culture of Fear. Lit Instructor Day after day up there beating my wings with all of the softness truth requires…