What Art Did for One Child

“My vivid and colorful imagination turned me into a hopeless daydreamer in elementary school,” recalls award-winning New York art teacher Michele Sommer in this poignant Harvard Educational Review memoir. “Once, in first grade, I was so completely absorbed in a daydream that I didn’t notice all the children had been dismissed. I found myself sitting completely alone at my desk, my teacher glaring at me… I was keenly…

Let's stipulate for the record that Congress has every right to ask questions of private industry as it works on the nation's behalf. I remember reading something to that effect when I was studying social studies once upon a time.

Then you have this: A public letter sent to Google CEO Larry Page by eight members of Congress inquiring "whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of the average American."

News flash: Congress has discovered the 21st century.

It's not…

Open Your Classroom Door to 'Be Better'

It's May. It's spring in Colorado. My 6th graders are starting to sound, smell, and act like ... 7th graders. Sunshine and storms trade places depending on the day, so…

May 2013 Volume X Issue V

Just for the ASKing! is a monthly e-newsletter that addresses the needs of all those who strive to be instructional leaders. This month, Bruce reflects on what he sees as the belief systems we should use to guide our decisions and actions and asks leaders to step back and reflect on their own core values and how those impact their practice and the practice of their colleagues.…

Possible Downsides with “No Excuses” Policies in Some Charter Schools

In this thought-provoking article in Educational Researcher, Joan Goodman (University of Pennsylvania) examines the “rule-oriented” environment characteristic of the inner-city schools run by certain Charter Management Organizations (CMOs). “A conspicuous feature of the regulated environment,” says Goodman, “is an insistence on continuous compliance to pervasive rules that…