I wish everybody in education could read this piece: "Education's Intellectual Machinery Is Broken."

The thesis is that most of what we see discussed in the media is secondary. 

So what is primary? Public schools are handicapped by inferior…

What if Kennedy wasn't assassinated?  Would the U.S. have entered Vietnam when we did?  Would the  Civil Rights Act have been passed when it was?  These are questions posed by Stephen King's 11/22/63.  For time travel, historical fiction, rhetorical questions and even a romance, read Stephen King's 864-page book, 11/22/63.

Happy reading,

Christine…

Russ on Reading: The Common Core in English/Language Arts: A Critically Literate Reading

Test, Punish, and Push Out: How "Zero-Tolerance" and High-Stakes Testing Funnel Youth Into the School To Prison Pipeline

A report by The Advancement Project

Advancement Project is an innovative civil rights law, policy, and

communications “action tank” that advances universal…

Universal Design for Assessment

In this article in Better: Evidence-Based Education, Benjamin Lovett (Elmira College) agues that giving students with special needs extra time on tests is not always appropriate. “Giving extended time accommodations is an attractive solution when young people with disabilities perform poorly on school assessments,” says Lovett. “The accommodations can raise performance, and they have also been shown to reduce…

Highly Effective Study Strategies

In this helpful article in American Educator, John Dunlosky (Kent State University) summarizes the research he and several colleagues have done on the most effective methods of studying. [For a more detailed report on this research, see Marshall Memo 470.] It turns out that the strategy used most often by students – reading, re-reading, and highlighting – is one of the least-effective ways to retain…

Finding and Replicating Successful Practices 

In this intriguing Kappan article, Arvind Singhal (University of Texas/El Paso) says that every community has positive deviants – “individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers although everyone has access to the same resources and challenges.” The challenge for change agents is (a) spotting the positive deviants, who…

When my children and I started reading When Did You See Her Last? my son commented on how long it takes authors to release new books.  I told him I didn't remember how long ago Lemony Snicket's last book came out.  He said, "Sure you do.  Don't you remember we read it in the dark, in the den during Hurricane Sandy?"

And suddenly it all came flooding back to me.  Not just the memory of reading that book, but the memories of reading significant books in my life.  Speechless and…

Great Teachers Don't Always Want to Become Principals

The Common Core and Core Knowledge

(Originally titled “Why Content Is King”)

“Text complexity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder,” say E.D. Hirsch Jr. and Lisa Hansel (Core Knowledge Foundation) in this Educational Leadership article. “Simple or dense, fictional or informational, what matters most for comprehension of a particular text is whether the reader has knowledge relevant to the text.” Which student will…

Jericho Middle School, where I am proud to serve as principal, recently hosted a forum on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in education. The forum was organized by one of our teachers, Elisa Waters along with her colleagues and students as well as the Nassau County Anti-Bias Consortium.  Over 150 educators heard presentations by experts…

Thanks to my dad for reminding me that this was the 150th anniversary of The Gettysburg Address.  Here is a video of famous Americans recounting those immortal words:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndmcgAsA1aI

Happy reading,

Christine…

According to the DOD website, this is President Obama's proclamation for National Education Week:

“Education is both a pillar of democracy and a cornerstone of American opportunity. In an increasingly competitive world, it gives our children the tools to thrive and our Nation the talent to lead. During American Education Week, we reaffirm our commitment to the next generation, and we celebrate everyone who is striving to help America’s young people…