The Landscape
New assessments - are they better?
Interestingly, both...
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, spaciously, and honestly about change.
Here is a quick excerpt from Loeb's introduction:
“Nothing...
"Lights. Camera. Help. The Nonprofit Film Festival is the world's first film festival dedicated entirely to nonprofit and cause-driven films. This 3-day event gives films-for-a-cause the attention they deserve by putting them up on the big screen in a theater setting."
The festival took place last week from July 29-31 in Austin, Texas. There were about 300 attendees, with 60...
“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 and show what is and is not working.”
Not sure about crediting NCLB, but signaling that we have a...
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 resources, conditions, and approaches to teaching and learning within the schools or their...
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 child and parent.
I think a healthy parent does not give their child white refined sugar whenever...
He begins by praising Obama's direction on education, saying that Obama is using "federal power to incite reform, without dictating it from the top." Yet Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan's Race to the Top program is rewarding $4.5 billion to a limited number of states who receive the most points based on a scoring rubric (PDF) the administration devised.
For instance, states that rate teachers and principals based on student performance on...
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.
Miller showed how the “poisonous pedagogy” of repression and fear will lead to severe psychological problems, even if parents and other adults think they are acting in the child's best interest. Here is a powerful quote from Miller's For Your Own Good:
"Children who are lectured to, learn how to lecture; if they are admonished, they learn how...
This year's conference has drawn at least 200 educators from other countries -- as far afield as South Korea,...
Since 1995 the Met schools have grown to be one of the most vibrant and powerful examples of democratic education and 21st century learning. It is profoundly encouraging that President Obama is looking to follow the Met schools...
The other day, I made a suggestion in the comments of Brainwrap's excellent diary (2/22/10) on the latest developments in the evolution of the Pennsylvania school district tale known in the Daily community as ‘WebCamGate.' In short, the district is being sued by the parents of a student who was disciplined by his school for something he must have done in his bedroom at home. How did they come to understand this alleged infraction of some rule? Seems the laptop...
This week, the world said goodbye to Howard Zinn, an award-winning writer, activist, professor, and role model for democratic educators. He was 87.
Zinn dedicated his life to promoting true democracy and social justice through education and action. Although he spoke and wrote extensively on the injustices that humans have inflicted upon each other, throughout history and in the present, he never lost hope for a more peaceful world.
In one of his last interviews, Zinn said that he wanted to be remembered as "somebody who gave people a feeling of hope and power that they didn't have...
What better way to embrace the optimism and hope of the beginning of a new year than reading inspiring books?
I recently picked up two new books that speak to heart of why and how education ought to be more democratic. They carry a great deal of wisdom and practical ideas for schools and learning, and they both connect the value of greater voice in learning to the creation of a more vibrant society.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
, by Daniel H. Pink (2009: Riverhead Books), throws out the underlying assumption of most businesses and schools: that people need to be controlled by rewards and punishments in order for work to get done or learning to happen. Pink, the best-selling author of A Whole New Mind, explains that we have an...
The Landscape is a blog for IDEA staff, board, and advisory board members to reflect on the bigger picture in education today, from philosophy to practice and policy to pedagogy. We'll report on exciting ideas, schools, and changes toward the development of a more deeply democratic educational experience for young people. We'll also share stories from our personal experiences as teachers, parents, students, and community members.
The Landscape will also be a place for dialogue...
Posted on Sep 03, 2010 - 08:44 AM by Dana Bennis
Secretary Duncan and the U.S. Department of Education announced the awarding of $330 million yesterday to two consortia of states under the Race to the Top Assessment program for their proposals to create a new generation of assessments. This is on top of the $4 billion announced in the past months to the state-wide Race to the Top competition. The Department of Education framed the contest as one that would create assessments that help "prepare students for college and the workplace, that more validly measure student knowledge and skills, that better reflect good instructional practices, and that support a culture of continuous improvement in education." The plan is for the assessments these programs devise to be in place in states around the country by 2014-15.Interestingly, both...
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The more catalysts the betterPosted on Sep 02, 2010 - 05:54 PM by Scott Nine
Just posted this over at the Cooperative Catalysts blog. Enjoy!Read More... 0 Comments
Finding hope this morningPosted on Aug 23, 2010 - 10:54 AM by Scott Nine
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, spaciously, and honestly about change.
Here is a quick excerpt from Loeb's introduction:
“Nothing...
Read More... 3 Comments
Lights. Camera. Help. Film FestivalPosted on Aug 03, 2010 - 09:01 AM by Dana Bennis
Two weeks ago I received an exciting call from Juan Carlos Pineiro Escoriaza, a talented film-maker who directed, shot, and edited IDEA's launch-time video, "Make Your Voice Heard." He had just got word that our video was selected by the Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival as one of 33 films to be shown during the festival out of 235 that were submitted! Here's a bit about the festival from their website:"Lights. Camera. Help. The Nonprofit Film Festival is the world's first film festival dedicated entirely to nonprofit and cause-driven films. This 3-day event gives films-for-a-cause the attention they deserve by putting them up on the big screen in a theater setting."
The festival took place last week from July 29-31 in Austin, Texas. There were about 300 attendees, with 60...
Read More... 0 Comments
Thoughts on “A Quiet Revolution”Posted on Jul 27, 2010 - 12:56 PM by Scott Nine
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 and show what is and is not working.”
Not sure about crediting NCLB, but signaling that we have a...
Read More... 3 Comments
Civil Right’s groups come together on statement for ESEA changesPosted on Jul 27, 2010 - 11:30 AM by Scott Nine
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 resources, conditions, and approaches to teaching and learning within the schools or their...
Read More... 1 Comments
Some Thoughts on CoercionPosted on Jul 16, 2010 - 07:04 PM by Scott Nine
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 child and parent.
I think a healthy parent does not give their child white refined sugar whenever...
Read More... 1 Comments
The Education Policy DebatePosted on Jun 07, 2010 - 10:26 AM by Dana Bennis
I enjoy reading columns by David Brooks in The New York Times. He's a moderate conservative who promotes a more compassionate, intellectual, and pragmatic form of conservatism than what is often found in politics and the media. Nonetheless, I often disagree with him, and his recent op-ed on education deserves a critical response.He begins by praising Obama's direction on education, saying that Obama is using "federal power to incite reform, without dictating it from the top." Yet Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan's Race to the Top program is rewarding $4.5 billion to a limited number of states who receive the most points based on a scoring rubric (PDF) the administration devised.
For instance, states that rate teachers and principals based on student performance on...
Read More... 2 Comments
UK Teachers Take a StandPosted on May 14, 2010 - 03:03 PM by Scott Nine
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.
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Celebrating Alice Miller: Pioneering PsychologistPosted on Apr 26, 2010 - 11:59 AM by Dana Bennis
Alice Miller, a leading psychologist whose work and books revealed the dangerous effects on children of corporal punishment and more subtle forms of physical and emotional coercion, passed away this past month in France at the age of 87. Her books are essential reading for parents and anyone who works with young people, including the The Drama of the Gifted Child, and For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence.Miller showed how the “poisonous pedagogy” of repression and fear will lead to severe psychological problems, even if parents and other adults think they are acting in the child's best interest. Here is a powerful quote from Miller's For Your Own Good:
"Children who are lectured to, learn how to lecture; if they are admonished, they learn how...
Read More... 1 Comments
IDEC 2010 Kicks Off in IsraelPosted on Apr 07, 2010 - 04:52 PM by Melia Dicker
Once per year, democratic educators from all over the world gather for the International Democratic Education Conference, or IDEC (gotta love all the acronyms). The conference, which Yaacov Hecht started in Israel in 1993, switches continents every year. IDEC 2008 in Vancouver, B.C., brought together a group of educators that became the founding team of IDEA -- Dana Bennis, Jonah Canner, Scott Nine, and myself (among others) -- and we've all come to Tel Aviv, Israel, for IDEC 2010. The Institute for Democratic Education, the Israeli organization that is a model for IDEA, and the Kibbutzim College of Education are cohosting on the college's campus from April 6 through the 13th.This year's conference has drawn at least 200 educators from other countries -- as far afield as South Korea,...
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Obama Praises Democratic SchoolPosted on Mar 02, 2010 - 11:27 AM by Dana Bennis
In a speech yesterday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, President Obama pointed to the Met Center schools as a powerful model for engaging young people and providing them with personalized support and hands on career experience. The Met schools and their parent organization, Big Picture Learning, network over 70 schools throughout the United States and around the world. The schools provide largely lower income youth and youth of color with the respect and opportunity to be meaningfully involved in their own learning and to pursue their interests and dreams.Since 1995 the Met schools have grown to be one of the most vibrant and powerful examples of democratic education and 21st century learning. It is profoundly encouraging that President Obama is looking to follow the Met schools...
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Democracy at Risk? Ask the Kids!Posted on Feb 26, 2010 - 01:20 AM by Laura Stine
Editor's Note: Laura Stine is a member of IDEA's Advisory Board and a guest blogger. In this post, she responds to the recent exposure of a school district that used webcams to spy on students. She refers to a blogger with the screen name "Brainwrap" on the political opinion website The Daily Kos, which calls its blogs "diaries."The other day, I made a suggestion in the comments of Brainwrap's excellent diary (2/22/10) on the latest developments in the evolution of the Pennsylvania school district tale known in the Daily community as ‘WebCamGate.' In short, the district is being sued by the parents of a student who was disciplined by his school for something he must have done in his bedroom at home. How did they come to understand this alleged infraction of some rule? Seems the laptop...
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Obama’s Education DisconnectPosted on Feb 02, 2010 - 01:22 PM by Dana Bennis
The Obama administration is ramping up its focus on education following last week's State of the Union. Unfortunately, it does not seem to go very far in taking a broader look at learning and giving teachers and young people more of a voice in the education process. Positive proposals include expanding the system of rating schools to include more than just test scores and using a student growth-based metric rather than a static grade comparison across schools. However, there is still no talk about more authentic forms of assessment or supporting student growth beyond academics, and the Race to the Top initiative, which guides additional education spending, remains focused on linking teacher retention to student test scores. See today's New York Times article on the subject for more...Read More... 1 Comments
Howard Zinn: One of the Great Democratic EducatorsPosted on Jan 30, 2010 - 03:10 PM by Melia Dicker
"The interchange between student and teacher, the free inquiry that is promulgated in the classroom, a spirit of equality in the classroom, to me that is part of a democratic education." - Howard ZinnThis week, the world said goodbye to Howard Zinn, an award-winning writer, activist, professor, and role model for democratic educators. He was 87.
Zinn dedicated his life to promoting true democracy and social justice through education and action. Although he spoke and wrote extensively on the injustices that humans have inflicted upon each other, throughout history and in the present, he never lost hope for a more peaceful world.
In one of his last interviews, Zinn said that he wanted to be remembered as "somebody who gave people a feeling of hope and power that they didn't have...
Read More... 2 Comments
Teacherken on Linda Darling-Hammond’s New BookPosted on Jan 25, 2010 - 10:22 AM by Dana Bennis
I've followed Teacherken's writings on education for a couple of years now. Teacherken (Kenneth J. Bernstein, a teacher in the DC metro area) is one of the most outspoken voices advocating for more personalized and democratic education, writing on the popular Daily Kos blog. In a post written this past weekend, he reviews educator and author Linda Darling-Hammond's new book, The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future, a great book I just picked up last week. As Teacherken explains, Darling-Hammond provides us with a strong argument to significantly change the direction of education in this country away from more tests and standardization and towards greater equity in funding, better support and development for teachers, and more...Read More... 1 Comments
On Motivation, Schools, and Post-Its: New Books for 2010Posted on Jan 05, 2010 - 08:33 AM by Dana Bennis
Happy New Year! It's 2010.What better way to embrace the optimism and hope of the beginning of a new year than reading inspiring books?
I recently picked up two new books that speak to heart of why and how education ought to be more democratic. They carry a great deal of wisdom and practical ideas for schools and learning, and they both connect the value of greater voice in learning to the creation of a more vibrant society.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
, by Daniel H. Pink (2009: Riverhead Books), throws out the underlying assumption of most businesses and schools: that people need to be controlled by rewards and punishments in order for work to get done or learning to happen. Pink, the best-selling author of A Whole New Mind, explains that we have an...
Read More... 3 Comments
Painting The LandscapePosted on Nov 23, 2009 - 10:28 AM by Dana Bennis
Think “landscape” and you might visualize an expansive nature scene, or maybe the nitty-gritty workings of the political landscape. Perhaps you think of the act of landscaping in terms of developing a park or other area. For the purposes of this blog, the landscape metaphor refers to all of this and more.The Landscape is a blog for IDEA staff, board, and advisory board members to reflect on the bigger picture in education today, from philosophy to practice and policy to pedagogy. We'll report on exciting ideas, schools, and changes toward the development of a more deeply democratic educational experience for young people. We'll also share stories from our personal experiences as teachers, parents, students, and community members.
The Landscape will also be a place for dialogue...
Read More... 0 Comments