If there’s one thing that stays on the mind of educators long after they’ve clocked out for the day, it’s testing. And not pop quizzes and end-of-unit exams. I’m talking about the beast we call standardized tests. Although we can find examples of standardized tests in the American education system dating back to the mid-19th […]
The Dangers of Standardized Testing and Why We Need to Slay the Beast Read More »
The news that Maryland’s biggest school district gave up on its attempt to change the grading scale for its 150K kids shouldn’t shock anyone. But reading between the lines of the Washington Post story that chronicled its retreat back to an A-F format offers up a relevant postmortem on why many changes we try to
The Absolute Best We Can Do For Kids Read More »
It’s inspiring, isn’t it, to think that what was once just a whisper is today the voice of the crowd? The voice for change. Seventeen years ago as a new century was launched with fireworks and fresh ideas, a growing number of educators had an optimism for new models of school for the new millennium.
The Rise of the Learning Professional Read More »
“We have to get a lot smarter, faster.” Yeah, thanks for that! Here I was having a nice casual call with my colleague Susan Einhorn, and she pops this comment out. But you know, she’s right. I mean if we’re even vaguely serious when we talk about the explosive growth of information that is now
Making Way for Modern Ideas Read More »
Over the years, I’ve met and had conversations with hundreds (if not thousands) of school leaders. Superintendents, principals, heads of school, CTOs, curriculum directors, department heads…and various other titles and distinctions. I’m always intrigued by the initial interactions I have with them and that first sense that I get of who they are, what they
“What is Good Gets Done” Read More »
Here’s an interesting question for your next workshop, faculty meeting, or maybe even a dinner party? “Would you rather that your children were literate, numerate, or curious?” Pick one, and why? For many, it’s a tough choice; for most, you want all three. But if you had to choose one, which one would it be?
Literate, Numerate or Curious? Read More »
What is the role of the single teacher in a classroom in a world where millions of potential teachers are now a few keystrokes away on a laptop or phone? To ask that question seriously, you have to buy into the premise of “millions of teachers” (if not billions) being within reach online. You have
From Traditional Teacher to “Modern Learning Advisor” Read More »
After more than forty years learning about learning, I’m intrigued by how much I still need to learn. I mean, from time to time, I’ve had profound insights on the topic, aided by the research and writings of many of the people Will and I often reference in our work, (and in our most recent
Learning About Learning Read More »
“Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.” ~Mark Twain It’s been over a decade (yes…a decade) since I wrote one of my most commented upon posts ever (ah, those were the days) titled A Steep Unlearning Curve. One of the nice things about having 15+ years of thinking and reflecting archived online is being
The Urgency to Unlearn Read More »
During one of our regular Roundtable discussions in Change School this week, one of our school leaders asked a very interesting question. “Given the number of books that have been written and papers that have been presented around school change over more than 50 years by some very well informed and esteemed writers, why has there
Why This Time is Different Read More »
It’s been a long time since I’ve written about tools, but today, I’m writing about tools. Tools that I use, or am learning to use. Tools that I think change the conversation when it comes to what we do in classrooms. Tools that make my learning world so different today from what it was even
The Global Refrigerator Door Read More »
For a few days last week, the world’s biggest edtech event, ISTE in San Antonio, made me confront some harsh realities. Late on the third day, as I sat listening to our colleague Gary Stager’s ISTE session on the 50th anniversary of Logo, I was reminded of just how painfully incremental our adoption of computers
Where Have all the Powerful Ideas Gone? Read More »
I had the great privilege of delivering a commencement speech at a small school in New Jersey last week. It was the first speech I can remember that I wrote and read verbatim. Thought I’d share it here for posterity and, hopefully, to spur some thinking. Please read it as if you were an eighth
As the school year comes to an end in the Northern spheres, and many attend graduation ceremonies and start throwing caps high into the air, it may be opportune to consider just how we define success. While no doubt we want everyone to be successful in their own ways, taken to an extreme the school
The Paradox of Success Read More »
For most people, learning with others as opposed to learning alone is a no brainer. Learning is social by its very nature, and while there are certainly moments where it happens through deep reflection and application in isolation, we ultimately seek to share our learning with others and, in turn, learn with and from them. That’s
Small Communities, Tightly Joined Read More »
