Of, By, For: In Search of the Civic Mission of K-12 Schools
Education activist Sam Chaltain wrote about the changing nature of public education and highlighted where the K-12 learning revolution is already underway. This blog is no longer being updated.
Education
Opinion
Games People Play in Modern School Reform
In DC, both traditional and charter schools are claiming victory after the latest round of test score data was released. Should they be? In the end, what can test scores tell us about whether schools are succeeding or failing -- and what should we be doing instead?
Education
Opinion
Trusting Teachers Is a Means to Authentic Parent Engagement
Guest post by Kim Farris-Berg
Would trusting teachers with authority to collectively make the decisions influencing school success be at odds with authentic parent engagement? I can see how, from some points of view, the language suggests yes. The idea can easily come off as "just trust the educators, and save the families from themselves!" Indeed, there are people who have, at first glance, interpreted the idea that way. But trusting teachers can be a promising means to parents becoming integral to the inner workings of our schools.
Would trusting teachers with authority to collectively make the decisions influencing school success be at odds with authentic parent engagement? I can see how, from some points of view, the language suggests yes. The idea can easily come off as "just trust the educators, and save the families from themselves!" Indeed, there are people who have, at first glance, interpreted the idea that way. But trusting teachers can be a promising means to parents becoming integral to the inner workings of our schools.
Education
Opinion
Student Congresses Can Do More Than Pick the Prom Theme
Guest post by Kim Farris-Berg
Whenever I try to explain to folks about the schools I've seen where middle- and high-school student congresses have a voting branch of school governance, I usually get the same response. That is, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Student governments have no real authority. They're made up of popular people whose job is to pick the prom theme and make other decisions about social activities."
Whenever I try to explain to folks about the schools I've seen where middle- and high-school student congresses have a voting branch of school governance, I usually get the same response. That is, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Student governments have no real authority. They're made up of popular people whose job is to pick the prom theme and make other decisions about social activities."
Education
Opinion
As Teachers, Our Work Is Just Beginning
The conclusion of the 10-part video series A Year at Mission Hill prompted one of its teachers, Kathy Klunis, to reflect on what she's learned along the way, and realize just how vital trust is to the process of creating a healthy school.
Education
Opinion
Teachers -- Stop Waiting, and Start Calling the Shots
Have you watched the 10-part video series A Year at Mission Hill and thought, "That's great, but I can't do that in my school." Well, what if you could? Educator Kim Farris-Berg explains how.
Education
Opinion
What Will It Take to Ensure Educators Have the Freedom to Teach?
Guest post by Zac Chase
In his essay "I - Thou - It," David Hawkins describes the triangular relationship between the teacher, the student and the content of learning. He refers to that final piece as the "It" of education -- the larger themes of a unit and the key principles a school espouses and attempts to enact in a child's education.
In his essay "I - Thou - It," David Hawkins describes the triangular relationship between the teacher, the student and the content of learning. He refers to that final piece as the "It" of education -- the larger themes of a unit and the key principles a school espouses and attempts to enact in a child's education.
Education
Opinion
The Hungry Games
For too many American children, Suzanne Collins' bestelling book The Hunger Games isn't just an interesting read; it's a disturbingly prescient description of the daily challenges they face.
Education
Opinion
(Extra)Ordinary People
Democracy rests on having respect for the judgment of ordinary people. And in the final chapter of the 10-part video series about the Mission Hill School in Boston, we're reminded that when you have faith in the capacity of ordinary people, they become capable of extraordinary things.
Education
Opinion
To Expand Horizons, Help Students Learn to See
What central theories of education and learning are we seeing played out in real-time via the 10-part video series, A Year at Mission Hill? Doctoral student Zac Chase has some ideas.
Education
Opinion
How to Build a Great Learning Organization
How do schools create the ideal learning organizations -- for young and old alike? Doctoral student (and former teacher) Zac Chase has some ideas.
Education
Opinion
Teachers Could Shift the Conversation About Assessment and Accountability
At the Mission Hill School in Boston, teachers decide which ways to assess their students, and why. Educator Kim Farris-Berg imagines what it would like like if all teachers across the country were similarly trusted.
Education
Opinion
What Should Schools Be Assessing - and How?
In this era of the school turnaround, what should a struggling school be turning into - and how can we know if it's working? Sam Chaltain has some ideas, but they would require a sea change in how we think about assessing whether or not students are learning.
Education
Opinion
Young People Want More Exposure to What Professionals Do
In recent national surveys, students have clearly indicated their desire to learn more about possible career paths by getting out of the school building and seeing what the world of work is all about. Kim Farris-Berg reviews the research, and draws connections to Chapter 8 of A Year at Mission Hill.
Education
Opinion
In American Schools, What Is Quality Work?
A new chapter of the 10-part video series A Year at Mission Hill is out, and it's made Sam Chaltain wonder about what constitutes quality work in American schools, and how we know.