Tags for "Education Reform"
Posted on Nov 01, 2009 - 06:47 PM by Ammerah Saidi in The Learning Curve
My first week into teaching after my year in graduate school, I was filled with grand ideas and ideals as to what I would do in my classroom to help my students liberate themselves from the intellectual shackles of US public education. I entered my classroom and my school with the belief that my students and I would revolutionize the educational experience in Detroit forever--no hyperbole intended. This is how deeply I believed in my students and their potential to be positive change agents in a world which deemed them failures or equally insulting, average at best.Critical pedagogy was my tool of choice: an educational philosophy accredited to the late Paolo Freire, which... The Plans of Mice and Men
Posted on Jan 11, 2010 - 08:04 PM by Ammerah Saidi in The Learning Curve
My friend and partner, Khadigah Alasry, in the fight to make education real again, developed a vision for a model of reform last year. We started presenting this model within the U.S. and over the internet. We've been invited to present in Dublin, the Cayman Islands, Hawaii, Dubai, Paris, and other places but due to our lack of funds and now time, we have had to kindly decline.We developed this model for educational reform while I was out of the classroom for a year and Khadigah had just graduated from undergrad with her newly minted teacher's certificate. For a nine minute synopsis of our model, watch our video:
This video summarizes my vision for my return to the classroom. My... Teacherken on Linda Darling-Hammond’s New Book
Posted on Jan 25, 2010 - 10:22 AM by Dana Bennis in The Landscape
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... Education Between NationsPosted on Mar 17, 2010 - 06:50 PM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
One of the things that really made me want to make sure my daughter's education was different from my own was the view of another nation's school system I had a chance to experience during college. During my sophomore year, I was able to participate in a teaching internship in Spain for at-risk children; I consider it one of the best learning experiences of my life yet.I am hesitant to discuss actual school policies, rules, curricula, etc. since I only speak moderate Spanish and did not get to take part in every classroom or the full lowdown on the school's policies; in fact, I only spent a few days within regular classrooms. Some of this appalled me--particularly the disdain I... Why Do Finland’s Schools Get the Best Results?
Posted on May 04, 2010 - 04:57 AM by Sara Schmidt in News Feed
The Finnish philosophy with education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind.
A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an additional teacher who helps those who struggle in a particular subject. But the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject.
Finland’s Education Minister, Henna Virkkunen is proud of her country’s record but her next goal is to target the brightest pupils.
‘‘The Finnish system supports very much those pupils who have learning difficulties but we have to pay more attention also to those pupils who are very talented. Now we have started a pilot project about how to support those pupils who are very gifted in certain areas.’’
7 Skills Schools Should Be Teaching KidsPosted on May 28, 2010 - 03:15 AM by Sara Schmidt in News Feed
I began with several questions: First, in the new global economy, where any job that can be turned into a routine is being either automated or “off-shored,” what skills will our students need to get—and keep—a good job. And what skills are needed for citizenship today? Are these education goals in conflict, I wondered.
With a clearer picture of the skills young people will need, I then set out to learn to what extent we are teaching and testing the skills that matter most. And because we already know that many of our nation’s urban schools are failing, I chose to observe classrooms in some of our most highly regarded suburban schools in order to understand whether our “best” was, in fact, good enough for our children’s future. What I discovered in this journey may come as a surprise to many.
The Education Policy DebatePosted on Jun 07, 2010 - 10:26 AM by Dana Bennis in The Landscape
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... Are we really Waiting for Superman?
Posted on Sep 22, 2010 - 08:37 AM by Dana Bennis in The Landscape
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... The Homeschooling Disclaimer
Posted on Oct 22, 2010 - 10:08 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
Why is it that when we criticize the government or welfare programs, immigration policies, health care, or any of its other arms, it's considered valid--but when we move toward criticizing education, it's either A. taboo, something that's too sacred to dissect, or B. something that should be blamed on the children and their "lack of motivation"?Each time I criticize the American public school paradigm or talk about homeschooling, I always feel like I have to preface it with a disclaimer about how much I support teachers, public schools that work, etc. But this little disclaimer feels so hollow; I've encountered just as many awful teachers as I've encountered amazing ones, when I add them... 10 Keys to Real Education Reform
Posted on Nov 22, 2010 - 10:19 AM by Sara Schmidt in Uncharted Parenting
In honor of the National Day of Blogging for Real Education Reform, I thought I'd write a bit about what I'd like to see done in public schools if real reform were enacted. I've already written about what education for the whole child might look like, but I thought I'd touch on ten specific, major things that I'd love to see either added or subtracted from public schools as they are.Of course, there are dozens of things I'd love to see changed in schools as they are. I'm only writing about the top ten on my own list that pertain to kids. Plenty of other issues, from teacher variables to school bus safety to administrative checks and balances, are also on my radar, but I feel that factors... The kind of mayoral engagement we can celebrate
Posted on Nov 30, 2010 - 02:39 PM by Scott Nine in The Landscape
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,... FrameWorks Institute
Posted on Jan 14, 2011 - 04:41 PM by Shawn Strader in Resources
Association of American EducatorsPosted on Jan 20, 2011 - 09:39 AM by Shawn Strader in Resources
A Nation at RiskPosted on Feb 01, 2011 - 04:18 PM by Dana Bennis in Resources
Framing Education Reform: A FrameWorks Message MemoPosted on Feb 02, 2011 - 06:27 PM by Dana Bennis in Resources
Teacherken’s DailyKos postsPosted on Feb 03, 2011 - 10:58 AM by Shawn Strader in Resources
Ecology of Education blogPosted on Feb 03, 2011 - 03:30 PM by Shawn Strader in Resources
Inside School ResearchPosted on Feb 03, 2011 - 10:47 PM by Shawn Strader in Resources
Bridging DifferencesPosted on Feb 04, 2011 - 11:51 AM by Shawn Strader in Resources
Small TalkPosted on Feb 04, 2011 - 02:36 PM by Shawn Strader in Resources