Peter DeWitt is the founder and CEO of the Instructional Leadership Collective. A former public school teacher and principal, he now facilitates professional learning in the United States and abroad based on the content of many of his best-selling educational books. Former superintendent Michael Nelson is a frequent contributor to this opinion blog. He is the co-leader of ILC and a former superintendent who has been an educator for more than 40 years.
Education
Opinion
Do Administrators Run the Risk of Losing Touch with Students?
"Communication doesn't have to mean reinventing the wheel."
Education
Opinion
What Great Educators Do Differently: A Conversation with Todd Whitaker
"The best thing about being a teacher is that it matters. The hardest thing about being a teacher is that it matters every day." Todd Whitaker
Education
Opinion
Our Words Matter
"Don't be so busy looking for problems that you forget to notice improvements." Todd Whitaker.
Education
Opinion
Urban Education: Issues and the Future
Today's guest blog is written By Michael Albertson. Michael is a music teacher in large high school in New York City
Education
Opinion
Can Pre-Service Teachers Meet the Demands of the Teaching Profession?
It doesn't matter whether you teach in a suburban, urban, or rural school setting, we are seeing many students enter school with diverse academic, social, and economic needs. Perhaps they have a vocabulary or language deficit that puts them behind their peers, or they lack the maturity that allows them to fit in socially; schools have been playing the role of caregiver and educator in the lives of children for decades.
Education
Opinion
Field of Dreams: The Importance of Team Sports
"And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces" (Terrence Mann AKA James Earl Jones).
Education
Opinion
Educating The Social Network Generation
Facebook, as well as Twitter, are great social networking tools for adults and teenagers. It allows for everyone to connect in a variety of ways. Although it can be a useful tool for home and schools, there are advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook and Twitter as well. As we go further through the 21st century, we are all still learning more and more about ourselves and the world around us through the lens that social networking offers us.
Education
Opinion
Taking Back Our Childhood: A Conversation with Nancy Carlsson-Paige
"There has been a dramatic increase in marketing to kids in the last 15 or 20 years! Billions of dollars are now spent by corporations to market to the special 'target' group called children." Nancy Carlsson-Paige
Education
Opinion
Parents as Partners
We all want to help our children be successful at school. No one wants to see their child struggle, because it leads to frustration and anger. Sometimes if a child struggles, it can lead to a sense of failure and negative attitudes about school which leads to disengagement.
Education
Opinion
Who Will Be Our Next Walt Disney?
While we are all forced to wait for Superman, we need Walt Disney.
Education
Opinion
State Interventions Can Help Create Inclusive Schools
School codes of conduct and board policies are vitally important to the safety of all students. However, they are only beneficial if staff will follow through on enforcing them. Without proper professional development and training, many staff members do not know how to address issues that they see in school. Administration, teachers and staff need proper resources in order to address controversial issues that happen within their school. One type of issue, which sadly is still considered controversial, is protecting LGBT students.
Education
Opinion
Will New Rules Curb High Stakes Cheating?
Recently there have been a few high profile cheating scandals in Atlanta and Philadelphia. The school systems blamed their behavior on school leaders who created a culture of fear all in an effort to make sure their school system would not remain on a "failing" list. These recent stories about cheating left me conflicted. Conflicted between the idea that high stakes testing means that much that school systems have to cheat in order to look better and the idea that we are teaching our students that cheating can be done when the stakes are high.
Education
Opinion
State Assessments: The Only Data That Matters
Schools are working very hard on establishing data points for students to follow their progress during their school years. We research formative and summative assessments and look into what tools other school districts are using so we can try get a better understanding of our students. However, it seems as though searching for good data is a fruitless effort because high stakes testing is the only data that matters.
