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NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN SUMMIT December 9, 2011 Diane Ravitch

My theme for today: Whose children have been left behind?

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. For many years, I was a strong advocate of testing, accountability, and choice. I worked in three conservative think tanks where these ideas were held sacred. In 1998, I went to Albany, New York, to testify on behalf of charter legislation. At the time I was connected to the conservative Manhattan…

Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?

By HELEN F. LADD and EDWARD B. FISKE

I am often intrigued by the controversy surrounding the contraction, “ain’t” which, to the best of my knowledge, has been created by the American education system. Contractions are an informal form of the English Language and should not be used when formal language is required. We generally speak informally, but when it comes to writing, we employ the formal language. That being said, the acceptable contraction for “am not” is “ain’t”, therefore it can only be correctly used with the pronoun…

The Trouble With Homework

By ANNIE MURPHY PAUL

NY Times

Needs Improvement List in Serious Need of Improvement

David S. Feller North Merrick UFSD, Superintendent Nassau County Council of School Superintendents’ Special Education Committee, Chairperson November 18, 2011

I write in response to the recent coverage throughout the State regarding the large increase in schools that are on this year's Needs Improvement List. My reaction comes from the…

How Nations Teach Global Skills

By Anthony Jackson on December 7, 2011 

What can American school systems learn from academically high-achieving nations? My Asia Society colleague Heather Singmaster shares four case studies.

By Heather Singmaster

On Monday,…

Are half of New York’s teachers really ‘not effective?’

By Valerie Strauss

Washington Post

This was written by Carol Corbett Burris, principal of South Side High School in New York. She was named the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York…

I had a busy morning today. I observed a student teacher for her final observation, and I made it home in time to participate in the weekly noon #Edchat on Twitter. As I participated in the #Edchat I was struck by the fact that it had a great deal to do with a conversation I had with my student’s cooperating teacher in a high school that morning.

The conversation that I had with this high school teacher took place in the school’s computer lab. It was a very relaxed session, as all of…

To Boost Learning, Start With Emotional Health

—Steve Braden

Ask any teacher to identify these students: The child who should be focusing…

Jay Mathews

Columnist

What’s wrong with parents visiting a school?By Jay Mathews, …