An Open Letter to Pearson

Ed Week

Dear Pearson and, by extension, McGraw-Hill, and the rest of the companies that produce standardized tests for our classrooms:

Schools all over New York state just finished giving the tests…

The Lost Art of Teaching Soundly Structured Lessons

More than 20 years ago, I was able to give my sister, Kathy, a life-saving kidney. It almost didn’t happen: Initial tests indicated that I was not a good enough genetic match to make the operation successful.…

In June 2013 the tone of the professional dialogue that I am hearing sounds more and more like a race to the end rather than arriving at a place at the top, with little left in our professional reserves to have a healthy disposition towards the important work that we do both now and in the future.  With battle lines hardening in the larger polity, education is caught in the grips of a debilitating claim of right and wrong, us and them, new and old.  I keep asking myself, how…

There’s an interesting article in the October 24^th issue of New York magazine written by Noreen Malone. It’s titled: “Coming of age in post-hope America”. The article reflects the feelings and attitudes of some young people today. The statement in red, on page 23 of the article she writes, My screwed, coddled, self-absorbed, mocked, surprisingly resilient generation. Does…

4 Ways High Schools Can Promote Creative Expression in Their Students 

With the constant budget cuts reducing the availability of artistic electives, and the intensified focus on standardized tests, it can be hard to feel as though there is any room left for creative expression in school districts. For students, this can be discouraging and result in boredom and disinterest in their academic efforts, and for those who are part of the administration,…

How Do Value-Added Indicators Compare to Other Measures of Teacher Effectiveness?

Posted on October 15th, 2012.

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