A most responsible decision is to open discussions where people with all opinions, bias, concerns, and support can be heard and considered. Coming together to make sense of all sides and arriving at a place where most of those involved can agree is challenging and takes a good amount of open mindedness. It might even mean a leader has to change his/her mind and position as the cloud of opinions clear and the facts are clear. An example from outside of education can be found in Robert…

Here's an article about public schools in West Virginia circa 1931. Those long-gone public schools were far superior to the schools we have now. Isn't that weird, not to mention tragic?

 We could get rid of the entire Department of Education, Common Core, everything the Education Establishment wants to impose on us; and do exactly what the people in West Virginia did 80 years ago. We would save a trillion…

Many institutions of higher education around the country offer an annual faculty award for innovative teaching. But, this phenomenon happens with much less frequency in K - 12 schools. We wonder how we can encourage the development of innovation for their students if they, themselves, are not recognized and rewarded for it. Does it present a dilemma for leaders whether or not to recognize with distinction, those teachers who pepper the school building with innovative thinking and…

36 Questions Which Lead Leaders

When change has no constituency and the status quo has a strong one, when the world in which our students live is in a constant state of flux, when our students and we, ourselves, have access to learning by accessing experts on YouTube and to communication through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, when our classrooms and facilities resemble the past century, we need to build a change constituency. Yet, it is only those leaders who have come by their leadership capacities naturally that…

The Power of Reading Aloud in Middle School Classrooms

—Source: Image by Flickr user Peter Taylor, under Creative Commons

Interviewing Famous Leaders in History

Subjects

• Arts and Humanities
• Social Studies
• World History
• U.S. History

Grades

• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

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Brief Description

Students research a famous leader and then assume the role of interviewer and…

The Best Resources For Teaching “What If?” History Lessons

May 19, 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo

© 2011 …

10 Online Resources to Improve EL Literacy

Find the Joy: Words of  Advice to a First Year Principal

by Monique Darrisaw-Akil, Ed.D.

Recently a close friend of mine became a principal for the first time this year. Soon after celebrating this awesome career achievement, the reality set in about just how challenging and stress-inducing this job can be.  Usually when she shares the joys and pains of school leadership I try to approach the conversation as a friend, not as someone who coaches and supervises…

This is one of my favorite themes. I condemn Constructivism because it seems to be an all-purpose excuse for not teaching. Teachers are actually ordered not to teach! I think we should do the exact opposite, that is, teach more and teach better.

 This nonsense has now spread through the K-12 system, top to bottom, side to side, in every single course. The amount of facts presented to children in a given year has…

With diminishing resources, it is unlikely that an ongoing review of assessment development is in the budget.  However it is essential. As curriculum changes, as the way students learn evolves, as the demands on educators increase, so must the assessments we use advance. Little, if any, instruction in teacher and leader programs are devoted to assessment building. It is unlikely, after assuming teacher or leader positions that assessment building attracts our attention amidst the…