When an Emergency is No Longer Emergent: How and For Whom Schools Work

As the pandemic stretches into year three, one must ask: What happens when an emergency is no longer emergent? Many school and district leaders rapidly adapted and stretched to make the best of challenging times. Despite these efforts, districts are facing escalating levels of stress. In an environment characterized by both real and manufactured controversies, … Read more »

Unlike Any Other: The School Year Ahead

An incoming first-grader shyly enters her classroom for the first time; she’s never been inside a school before. Her classmate confidently sits down at a desk; she spent the last year in-person and knows the routines. Are they both on-par for the coming school year? A ninth-grader looks around at his high school class for … Read more »

Moving from the Potential of Teacher Improvement to its Passionate Reality

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I want to make an argument for a system of support for teachers. I spent a decade in the classroom in large urban districts. During that time, I encountered many passionate teachers who worked relentlessly to improve, but often without support or direction. For the last seven years, I have travelled the country providing technical … Read more »

Real Change or the Next Illusion: Coding, Robotics and Makerspaces

It’s here and coming to a school near you. Coding, Robotics and Makerspaces (CRAM) comprise the latest trend in educational reform. Is CRAM the marketing hype of an information technology industry? Is it the next new thing for grantmakers, the hope—and perhaps fear—of K-12 educators, or the reasonable expert estimate of a sea change in … Read more »

The Crisis in Civility

Photo by Jay L. Baker, Office of the Maryland Governor; https://flic.kr/p/jHQUNd; CC by 2.0

  The country faces a severe civility deficit. A survey administered annually since 2010 finds that Americans believe civility to be at crisis levels and that the nation has lost stature because of it. Survey respondents say that the responsibility for the civility crisis lies largely with politicians (75%), the internet/social media (69%), and the … Read more »

Professional Development: On the Chopping Block

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I love the definition of insanity often attributed to Einstein: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” I think of that often when I am trying to put together one of my grandson’s new toys without success. So does this definition of insanity resonate with educators? In education, we often struggle with … Read more »

Teaching Citizenship in a Divided America

Photo by DoDEA, https://flic.kr/p/Y6FqFZ, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

  The past several decades have marked an era of “college and career” in America’s schools. The two C’s echo in school hallways, driven by a political priority on economic competitiveness. But since the tectonic presidential election, as we’ve seen the ascendancy of attacks on our institutions and been stunned by the march of hate … Read more »

Arming Students Against Bad Information

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All consumers of information need to be able to distinguish fact from opinion and recognize any bias, including one’s own, that may influence the quality or depth of understanding what we are reading or hearing. For this reason, these skills are staples of the language arts and social studies curricula. Yet, with new forms of … Read more »