Posts in Category Education Policy

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...

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Posted on Mar 22, 2012 - 06:58 AM by Scott Nine

The Landscape Podcast: Education Nation

This morning, I had the privilege of talking with Nancy Flanagan and Neola Young, two of IDEA's Digital Organizers, about Education Nation. NBC describes Education Nation as "a nationally broadcast, in-depth conversation about improving education in America." Nancy and Neola followed the first event last year, which took place over a week in September in New York City, and the second event, which happened this week.

Stream the podcast through this link, or download the .mp3 by right-clicking the link & selecting Save Link As.

Follow:

Nancy Flanagan @nancyflanagan on Twitter and at Teacher in a Strange Land on Education Week
Neola Young @neolayoung on Twitter
Education Nation...

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Posted on Sep 30, 2011 - 08:05 AM by Melia Dicker

Is “The Experiment” Working?

It was a classy affair with an attendance of perhaps fifty guests, and I was lucky enough to be granted an invitation to an exclusive screening of The Experiment at The New Orleans Museum of Art.

I walked into the place – a tad bit under-dressed – and filled my hands with an Abita Amber and a flat mushroom-filled pastry, which turned out to be delicious. In the buffet line, I met a well-dressed young man (about 10 or 11) wearing a (fake?) diamond-encrusted cross on a silver chain and questioning me as to whether I’d purchased a ticket.

When I said no, he seemed disappointed, saying, “Man, so they just giving tickets away to anybody?!” I asked if he had paid for one and he told me, no,...

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Posted on Sep 01, 2011 - 07:55 AM by Jason Lacoste

Paradoxes of Our Work

The ability to hold two conflicting truths simultaneously isn't easy. And that's exactly what our work in education calls us to do at this moment.

I am just returning from the AERO and Holistic Education conferences, where I saw COOPsters David Loitz, Casey Caronna, Paul Freedman and Jen Groves. (Oh yeah!) One evening at AERO, a group gathered to talk about what IDEA has been learning over the past year. This prompted a reflection on my work as an educational activist and teacher over the past 15 years, and the paradoxes I hold in my work, as both a radical school critic, and a persistent hope monger in education.

As most of us here at the COOP already feel, we are at a moment of...

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Posted on Aug 10, 2011 - 12:57 PM by Kirsten Olson

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...

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Posted on Feb 04, 2011 - 03:26 PM by Scott Nine

A Parent’s Take on Alternative Education

When I talk about my issues with the public school system, many people counter my comments with, "Well, what kind of education do you support?" The short answer is whole child education--education that supports the whole child. Of course, I could go on and on about how the education I want for my daughter is holistic and healthy, relevant and meaningful, play-based, nature-based, and real-life based, with goals and a definition of success that are meaningful to her and not randomly appointed (or elected) officials who deem it necessary for her.

But people generally are interested in other forms of education that are possible, which is fantastic. I think a lot of people simply don't know...

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Posted on Oct 28, 2010 - 09:46 AM by Sara Schmidt

Are we really Waiting for Superman?

In two days, one of the most well publicized education documentaries in recent memory premiers in several cities around the country - Waiting for Superman. You may have already heard about it on The Oprah Show, in Time magazine, or from any number of other sources. Most of the coverage in these media outlets has been overwhelmingly positive, and there are many big name supporters of the film, including Bill Gates and the controversial Chancellor of D.C. Schools, Michelle Rhee, in addition to the big-name director of the film, Davis Guggenheim of An Inconvenient Truth.

In short, the documentary profiles 5 children and their families who are hoping to get into charter schools as a way in...

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Posted on Sep 22, 2010 - 05:37 AM by Dana Bennis

New assessments - are they better?

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...

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Posted on Sep 03, 2010 - 05:44 AM by Dana Bennis

Pray For Doubt

Pray for Doubt

...is a phrase I read sometime somewhere. "Pray for doubt," the author advocated. At first I didn't understand why anyone would want to ask for Doubt. Isn't it better to be sure? Isn't Certainty the ironclad, surefire way to know something Good and Right and True and to hell with all the rest of it? I mean, what would doubt do for anyone on a mission?!

I'll tell you what doubt does: It gives you pause. And pause gives you time to step back. And stepping back gives you perspective. And perspective gives "you" (yes, ME) a chance to see things more clearly.

I had a moment of doubt the other day. Oddly enough this occurred while I was reading this article about...

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Posted on Aug 06, 2010 - 05:29 AM by Cian Sawyer

The Education Policy Debate

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...

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Posted on Jun 07, 2010 - 07:26 AM by Dana Bennis