What is leadership....really? Who wants a leader....really? Is leadership always just a moment in time when all things come together? Could we believe that the Florida Superintendent of the Year for 2015 was a leader? Who would believe how soon after receiving that honor the superintendent would be terminated with a buyout of over a million dollars? And, who would believe that this resilient woman would become the Commissioner of Education in New York State within months after the…

There are many education critics or analysts who think they see a convergence at the very top of the society: rich capitalists somehow on the same page with far-left ideologues. Does that make sense?

 But what exactly is a Bill Gates? He gave $1 billion, give or take, to force Common Core on the country. Many people think this will make the country dumber, despite all the rosy claims. But what's in it for Bill…

Succeeding In Organizations

Jonathan T. Jefferson

“If I knew back then, what I know now

If I understood the what, when, why and how

Now it’s clear to me what I should have done…”

George Benson 20/20 lyrics

 …

The crucial matter of hiring, firing, and retention

Few schools get turnarounds right, least of all high schools, writes Sara Neufeld for The Hechinger Report. In 2012 and 2013, the federal Institute of Education Sciences (IES) asked 49 states and the District of Columbia about their capacity to support failing schools that had received federal turnaround money. This money disproportionately went to high schools, and states reported significant problems. To…

What ESEA reauthorization must not ignore

A new brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education argues that reauthorization of the ESEA must ensure states and districts target resources and reforms toward high schools repeatedly failing to graduate a third or more of students, or consistently demonstrating low graduation rates among student subgroups. Twenty-nine percent of African American students and 25 percent of Hispanic students do not graduate from high…

The proficiency disconnect

A new brief from Achieve details discrepancies -- or the "honesty gap" -- between student proficiencies as reported by states to students, parents, and educators, and as reported by NAEP, the standard for student assessment comparisons across state lines. Over the past two years, many states report proficiency rates that are more than 30 percentage points higher than their 2013 NAEP rates, leading parents and educators to believe…

The Educational Canvas: R.I.P. Grant Wiggins

Grant Wiggins, Champion Of Understanding

05/27/2015, Terry Heick, 0 Comments

Grant Wiggins, Champion Of…

We have arrived at a place where the right issue and the right time have come together. Some have recognized the advantages of having arrived at this place and have begun their journeys toward making the shift to becoming 21st century schools. Our belief remains that the teaching and learning that is required in a STEM based environment benefits all students and demands that teaching and learning be responsive to 21st century…

The glories of a year-round school calendar 

Given the choice, says middle grades teacher and PD consultant Bill Ferriter, "I will never work on a traditional school calendar again." Since his fast-growing district shifted to a no-summers-off schedule seven years ago, Ferriter finds himself "more focused and productive as a practitioner," more rested, and better able to pursue professional opportunities beyond the classroom. …

A Mom Corrects the Néw York Times about the Reasons for Opt Out…

Thompson: What Do We Mean When We Talk of Graduation Rates?…

There is still a big debate going on about the value of the lecture. 

 Here's an article that mainly explains why it's good:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/05/in_praise_of_the_lecture.html

The point I'd like to make here is that the attack on the lecture is, covertly, an attack on knowledge. In other words, a good lecture by a good…

Our public education system, the center of our democracy, lives within a global environment now. Technology and mobility have made it so. Our graduates from one place will probably work in another. Can we guarantee parity if there were no national standards? So the intention of Carnegie credits, minutes of instruction, and national standards is to guarantee all students, across the country, the same learning expectations. But they don't.…

Coding for Kids: The New Vocational Education…

If attention to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming, encouraging and disciplined environments in which roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, engaging teaching and learning is taking place, respect and consideration for others is the norm, stress and burnout is in our control and can be ameliorated. It has to happen for adults before they can make it happen for our students. …