Most of us will never be so great but all of us can be 'a little bit Mandela.' Those of us who choose to lead in education know the calling to make a difference in the world. We have followed it and made it our own. Most of us will not be asked to sacrifice as he did nor will the differences we make be as large. For those like Nelson Mandela and Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung who set extraordinary examples for us, we are grateful. They spent themselves on worthy causes. Their…

Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD…

This is a really nice infographic with some pretty nice ideas about getting kids into reading. Are there any ideas they've missed?

Credit to
Love Reading 4 Kids

Caroling with Education Reformers

Russ on Reading 

Russ Walsh

Does the Common Core Dictate Instructional Methods?

In this feisty Education Gadfly article, Michael Petrilli responds to recent articles criticizing supporters of the Common Core for going back on their initial claim that the new standards won’t prescribe how content is taught in classrooms. Petrilli and others have said that Common Core will bring about important “instructional shifts,” and the critics are saying, Aha!…

If you're wondering what's up with CC, this is a good introduction on American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/12/common_core_standards_throwing_gasoline_on_a_fire.html

The main thing to note about Common Core is that it is HUGE. Writing an article about it is like trying to do a short piece on Roman History.  

They wrote…

The PISA Puzzle

The lessons of the big test for our school reform movement aren’t as simple as they might seem.

The Answer Sheet

Four lessons on new PISA scores — Ravitch

The Persistent Allure of Paper

The demise of printed material has been predicted for years, but in this article in The Week, Nicholas Carr argues that it’s not going to happen soon. “Paper may be the single most versatile invention in history,” he says, “its use extending from the artistic to the bureaucratic to the hygienic.” The average American uses a quarter of a ton every year. We simply can’t live without it. Printed books are selling…

During the last decade, we’ve heard 1 million voices talking about bullying, to the point where the talk about bullying is a form of bullying.

Instead of complaining about the fact the kids can’t read, can’t do math, and don’t know much, our education critics lament the overwhelming presence of what they call bullying. Hasn’t there always been bullying? Yes, of course. And one would think that a school could state a policy and enforce it. You have to wonder if the…