This fall, two remarkable young men, seniors at Fondy, approached Mr. Scottberg, the assistant principal charged with the role of scheduling that hour.  The students, Isaiah Zubke and Kevin Wuest identified some of the difficulties with our current scheduling program, including the ability for students to "override" the program.  Isaiah and Kevin came with a solution-focused perspective.  As young entrepreneurs, Isaiah and Kevin Co-founded Rebentify Technologies and offered their…

Public education is a wonder. We have managed through federal and local funds to provide a free education to the children in our nation.  It is an expectation that a student will be educated, free of charge, no matter where they live, no matter their income. But, how do schools meet the needs of all students when they are structured so all students fit as fully as possible into one single design? How do schools manage to reach the invisible children when they are built to address the…

Have you noticed you stop reading articles before coming to the end? Or that professional development books have fewer pages?  Has attention span been affected by Email and Twitter? Many notice these changes in their own behavior and the behavior of the learners in their classrooms. This attention reduction changes the way information is obtained and will ultimately affect the manner in which teaching and learning takes place.  …

In a surprise ruling this week, Judge Lawrence Moniz found that 17-year-old Michelle Carter's words were the contributing cause of Conrad Roy III's suicide. She was found guilty of manslaughter in what was called a "texting suicide" case. This is a story of young lives: one lost and one ruined and two families left with lifetimes of sorrow. The actions of Mr. Roy, following the directions of his girlfriend, raises questions about his story. And hers. And the ongoing state of the mental…

In a recent conversation with a parent who is sending her only child to kindergarten, we heard her concerns about the school district in which she lives. Although including a small middle class neighborhood, over 80% of the district's student population are on free and reduced lunch, a key indicator of poverty. For several months this young mother tried to make an appointment to visit the school but she received no follow up with an appointment time.  Finally, on kindergarten…

The addition of highly trained STEM teachers and paying them, as well as all teachers, for work they do is a good direction.  But, without a fundamental structural change that supports a new way of teaching and learning, we will continue to get nearly the same results. Without the partnerships of business, community organizations, and higher education, we cannot leverage the change fully. Without architects who understand that STEM/STEAM learning labs must allow for flexible structure…

Peer feedback benefits the one giving and the one receiving feedback. Here guest blogger Ruth Ebenstein shares another story about learning as it takes place in a Hebrew Day School in Ann Arbor. No matter whether in public, private, or religious settings...how successful teaching and learning takes place can serve as a model and as a reminder.  We wonder if more students were taught how to give and receive feedback and found it empowering and helpful, if as adults feedback would be sought…

A few months back GE released an ad campaign featuring physicist Millie Dresselhaus. The 86 year old has been cast into stardom as the company announced its commitment to have 20,000 women employed in STEM positions by 2020. And, essentially, that's the dual purpose of the ad, not just to announce the program but to raise the question about whether female scientists can achieve celebrity status. Pair that with Rush Limbaugh's recent rant about his disdain for acknowledging women…