The IDEA Blog
Charting a new path forward in education by sharing positive stories of change, providing perspective on key issues, and giving you the news and analysis you need to take action.
A Life of Fire
I received this note in my inbox Monday:
Our dear friend, mentor, and colleague, Ken Bergstrom, has entered the Vermont Respite House in Williston, Vermont, to end his journey in the peace and comfort of hospice. (Some of you may remember that Ken spent several years volunteering for Hospice while he was on the M.Ed. faculty.)
As always, Ken is warm, alert, and delightful. He is very open to hearing from and seeing people, at least for now. If you would like to be in touch, to say goodbye, or thank you, or just to connect, you may call him. If you would like to send him a message, you can do that through Timiny Bergstrom on Facebook. If you'd like to visit, you might want to...
Posted on Nov 29, 2012 - 05:30 PM by Scott Nine
Sneak Peek of the Oregon Innovation Tour
Sneak peeks and previews are some of my favorite things. This one shares more about the Oregon Innovation Tour. If you want to go or think you might but aren't sure - I hope it gets you to push the button and make it happen. If you can't attend, but would like to - this will give you a good dose until the twitter feed starts buzzing with updates.
The tour is set to begin on Wednesday, December 5th at 3:00pm with a visit to the GANAS program in Eugene, Oregon. We will get to hear from Roscoe Carson, the retired teacher who helped create this program and has passed it on to a next generation of leaders. We will take a few moments to talk about how to have a tour experience - how to...
Posted on Nov 21, 2012 - 08:31 AM by Scott Nine
More Than the GOP Needs to Rethink its Future
Mark Halperin on Morning Joe this morning:
The Republican Party is going to be a circular firing squad for the foreseeable future. They thought they were devastated after Barack Obama won last time. They thought it will be ten years in the wilderness and then they won. Chris Christie won and Bob McDonnell won and Scott Brown won. And then they swept the midterms and they thought, “You know what? Opposing Barack Obama, just being against everything he’s fought for, is enough.” Last night it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t near enough. They lost a lot of Senate races for the same reason and now the soul-searching and the circular firing squad really commences. Chris Christie will get a...
Posted on Nov 07, 2012 - 02:20 PM by Scott Nine
A conference that will matter after it is over
Justo Méndez Arámburu has had a very clear message about IDEC 2012 over the last two months.
“The most important day of IDEC 2012 is April 1st.”
That date is remarkable because it is the day after the conference is over.
In total, the conference will bring together over 750 young people, educators, community leaders, organizers, academics, and advocates from around the world and across Puerto Rico. But, the most profound accomplishment of conference organizers has happened even before the conference begins. Unlike so many other conferences, IDEC 2012 has been organized to have maximum impact in the lives of young people and communities in Puerto Rico after the international...
Posted on Mar 22, 2012 - 06:58 AM by Scott Nine
A list of incredible humans who know what real education looks like
Late last week, I was in a conversation with Sheryl Petty where she graciously encouraged me to look at just how much IDEA and my own thinking is impacted by other humans who have put their ideas and love into words.
In support of #blog4idec and today's theme of "Human", I thought I'd try to brainstorm off the cuff (no help from Google) the names of the people whose writing has profoundly shaped my thinking about what real education looks like at the most human level.
Feel free to add your own incredible humans in the comments box.
And yes, I am inviting several moments of, "how could I forget ________, and _____________, and __________ . . ."
Here's my list of incredible humans:
...Posted on Nov 01, 2011 - 08:59 AM by Scott Nine
Time to get off our knees and do more than just march
Jonathan Kozol was spot on. It is time for educators, parents, and young people to reclaim the “public” in public education and get off our knees. I've been enjoying reading his and teachers diaries about why they'll march to Save Our Schools on July 30th in DC. I'll be there too.But I'm not going to DC for the march. I'm going for the messy work of organizing what comes after the march that will take place at the SOS Congress on July 31st at American University from 11am to 3pm EST.
We are right to make demands, to craft policy proposals, and to seek media attention. We need coherent narratives about the school to prison pipeline, the learning and teaching environments that grow...
Posted on Jul 21, 2011 - 06:47 AM by Scott Nine
Takeaways From Our First Year
Over the next few weeks, you'll see changes to IDEA's website and blogs. We are constantly learning and this next iteration of our site reflects some of our takeaways from our first year.Here are a few personal takeaways from the year that I hope to live out:
1) Share more of our learning in public.
The IDEA team traveled over 200K miles and visited with young people, thought leaders, policy-makers, foundations, parents, and organizers from across the country. That has done a lot for our thinking about how to spur transformative change. We want to share more of that with you - and not just the finished pieces - but the unfinished thoughts and the complications. Personally, this...
Posted on Jun 27, 2011 - 09:00 AM by Scott Nine
As much to myself as to you
I've spent much of the last five days making sense of the two days I spent in DC last week and the last six months of my work with IDEA.In two days of meetings, I met with the staff of three Congressmen, two Senators, two folks in the Department of Education, the adviser to the education advisers of the 75 largest cities in the US, the interim director of the national PTA, the leaders of the National Youth Rights Association, and the head of policy and advocacy for the organization that brings together many of the state schools' foundations.
I've been obsessed with understanding the educational landscape. Who has the power to convene the kinds of conversations many of us want to see...
Posted on Feb 04, 2011 - 03:26 PM by Scott Nine
The kind of mayoral engagement we can celebrate
Imagine a small city of 200,000 people whose mayor has earned the trust, partnership, and respect of its educators (both public and private), business leaders, youth, and parents. A mayor whose calendar reflects a real commitment to an honest conversation about ways the entire city can become a school - in the best use of the word.Imagine a mayor who calls together all department heads to sit in a circle with leading educators, youth, and parents every other week to sort out how to increase each young citizens sense of belonging, their rootedness to the city, and how the city can bring its resources to bear in service of the best learning available.
Sound crazy? Impossible? In March,...
Posted on Nov 30, 2010 - 11:39 AM by Scott Nine
A new chapter
Grace Lee Boggs has a new book on the way and the first chapter is open for everyone to read online. I think it is worth your time and attention and hope you'll take 20 minutes to read and reflect.Thank you, Grace!
Posted on Oct 17, 2010 - 06:40 AM by Scott Nine
No one should be put down
Today is National Coming Out Day and vigils will take place across the country with special attention given to the four young people who have killed themselves in the last few weeks because they were taunted and shamed for being gay.The climate in many schools across our country could easily lead this number to grow. And certainly, it would if we thought not just about the shaming of people who were gay but also people who are harming themselves over feelings of shame because of their body size, ability, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.
I think Paulo Freire had it right when he said that love and dialogue is what transforms the world. And, that is what I think we need lots more of...
Posted on Oct 11, 2010 - 08:57 AM by Scott Nine
Just 3 days apart
Today, 10/10/10, millions will take part in a day of action focused on addressing climate change. Led by 350.org, these actions and the numbers of people involved are a powerful indicator of our collective readiness to protect the earth and change our lifestyles.And yes, on 10/7/10 thousands of people and students and teachers in the United States acted collectively in the spirit of transforming our schools.
Now the real challenge, how do we get three days closer to each other? In other words, how can we make deeper the linkage between the values, skills, knowledge, and culture being shared in our schools with the societies we hope to live in?
As a new friend Daniel Baron shared with me...
Posted on Oct 10, 2010 - 07:32 AM by Scott Nine
October 7th - A call to action
Today is the National Day of Action for Education Transformation and Justice. Thousands of teachers, youth, and activists around the country will be doing something today to say, “enough already” and call for a deeper and more nuanced conversation about the purposes and practices of education in America.Yet, many activists won't be seeking transformation or nuance or engagement. Instead, they will defend education and demonize broadly the forces that call for school reform.
And therein lies the root of the problem.
The most transformative act someone could take today is to walk into a public school and have a real conversation with a student, a principal, and a teacher about what is...
Posted on Oct 07, 2010 - 07:26 AM by Scott Nine
The more catalysts the better
Just posted this over at the Cooperative Catalysts blog. Enjoy!Posted on Sep 02, 2010 - 02:54 PM by Scott Nine
Wikis are transforming teaching
Last week I had the privilege of listening to celebrated teacher Anthony Armstrong throw down his approach to using wikis to open up the learning process with his middle school students. It was a powerful display of what can happen when creativity, technology, and a spirit of collaboration infuses the learning process. My favorite thing he said: "The singular goal of our assessment process is to not ask any questions our students can Google and find the answer."Here is a great resource on how to use wikis in education that he and the folks at EduTopia offered up.
Posted on Aug 31, 2010 - 03:32 PM by Scott Nine
Finding hope this morning
This morning I went for a jog, stretched, and then opened The Impossible Will Take A Little While: a citizen's guide to hope in a time of fear edited by Paul Loeb.I don't know about you, but more often than I want to admit, my mind wanders to anxious places that doubt whether even really committed people working toward a common purpose can spur change that matters. Sure, I know plenty of stories of social and personal transformation. But, I've also heard lots of stories of failure.
Reading from this edited collection keeps my soul alive and encourages me. It isn't full of simplistic platitudes or quick fixes. Each reading from it leaves me thinking and feeling more creatively,...
Posted on Aug 23, 2010 - 07:54 AM by Scott Nine
Thoughts on “A Quiet Revolution”
Secretary Arne Duncan gave a speech titled, “The Quiet Revolution" at the National Press Club today. It was billed as a landmark address that would lay out the educational priorities of the Obama Administration for the rest of this term. It is interesting to compare this with the Opportunity to Learn Campaign's statement on ESEA reauthorization. The speech contained some important nuggets. I've excerpted and commented on a few below:“So whatever else we do at the federal level -- our first responsibility is to tell the truth -- and that also gets to the second big lever of change -- which is transparency. I credit NCLB for exposing America's dirty laundry -- but we need to go further...
Posted on Jul 27, 2010 - 09:56 AM by Scott Nine
Civil Right’s groups come together on statement for ESEA changes
Just finished reading the Framework for Providing All Students an Opportunity to Learn through Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This document was co-authored by several leading Civil Rights organizations. I don't think it goes far enough, but it does address clearly and directly key challenges around funding formulas, the role of charter schools, the involvement of parents and community, and names that the overall goal of schools needs to be preparation for participating in a vibrant democracy.I think it is worth reading in full, but here are few excerpts that seem worth highlighting.
"Low-performing schools will not improve unless we also change the...
Posted on Jul 27, 2010 - 08:30 AM by Scott Nine
Some Thoughts on Coercion
I'm often asked about coercion. What do I think about it? What does it mean to coerce a child? Am I a supporter of non-coercive education?I posted a response on the AERO list-serve to this question: "When we fixate on non-coercion, are we condemning some children to being handicapped in our society because it is more difficult for them to attain these skills and so they don't 'choose' to?"
My answer is yes.
It might take me lots of stumbling around and many sentences to get to the clearest articulation of why. Here is what I'm thinking: When we fixate or over-focus on non-coercion, we can tyrannize healthy back and forth relationships between peers, or student and mentor, or...
Posted on Jul 16, 2010 - 04:04 PM by Scott Nine
UK Teachers Take a Stand
My first response to news that thousands (yes thousands!) of elementary school teachers in the UK will boycott giving their students standardized tests and instead take them on outings or write creative stories is, "It is about time!"I've long thought that teachers have the most collective power to bring about change if they acted simultaneously to challenge norm referenced tests that rank young kids and mechanize the art of teaching and learning.
The full article can be found UK teachers boycott tests.
Posted on May 14, 2010 - 12:03 PM by Scott Nine
Worry is an expression of love
As a parent of a ten- and two-year old, I continue to be awed and humbled by what parenting asks of me. Whoever said that raising children is like watching your heart move around outside your body was spot on. As an educator who spends my day with other people's kids, I'm also deeply aware of the ways parents and educators can work and grow together as well as the potential impact when we don't.I've come to love the worry parents feel and often express (including my own). I didn't start there, but as my kids got older and I found my own anxieties arrive at how my son spent his day, I found myself needing to rethink my responses to worry.
The way I see it, the worry a so called...
Posted on Nov 05, 2009 - 12:32 PM by Scott Nine
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