A major problem with public education is tradition. “This is just the way things are done here,” is a refrain that I’ve heard many times in my own short career. One of my take-aways from TEDxNYED is this: The tools and services to make schools modern and relevant are available, but schools need to overcome their [...]
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As mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been spending a lot of time reading research and thinking about my Master’s Project. I’m working on a self-directed learning1 unit in which students choose their own specific topics of study within a broad category (i.e. climate change) and follow their interests and passions while documenting and publishing their learning [...] I picked this one up from Clay Burell thanks to his post at Change.org, and I believe it was Clif Mims who kicked of this meme. Directions Summer can be a great time for professional development. It is an opportunity to learn more about a topic, read a particular work or the works of a particular author, beef [...] Communities of reformers Some posts hit you exactly when and where you need to be hit. Dina over at The Line wrote a post that did just that recently. In a new school where I’m not exactly enthralled with the existing culture, I’ve found myself frustrated often. I haven’t been posting as much in part because I [...] Podcasts are amazing. I listen to them when I do the dishes, when I’m driving by myself in the car, when I’m going for a run, and pretty much any time when I’m doing mindless work. I’ve come to rely on podcasts quite a bit for my entertainment/learning/information. I’ve found that since I’ve started using podcasts [...] Thanks to a tweet this morning by Will Richardson (@willrich45), I came upon the article “Why Self-Discipline is Overrated” written by Alfie Kohn and published in the Phi Beta Kappan in November, 2008. 5 bullet summary Self-discipline is a trait that generally gets high praise from both progressive and traditional educators. However, Kohn points out that: extreme self-discipline [...] Since the topics of following one’s passions and life-long learning have been topics I’ve written about recently, I couldn’t help but love Ben Dunlap’s TED talk from 2007. It tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian holocaust survivor who moved to segregated South Carolina and started up an integrated textile factory. It’s 19 minutes and 3 [...] Deborah Meier believes that many people heading school reform outlets “have not read more than one or two of the 100 books I recommended at the end of ‘In Schools We Trust.’” I’ve read some Deborah Meier (The Power of Their Ideas), but I’m not familiar with her list of 100 recommended books. In fact, upon thinking [...] I might not be quite the Google-ite others are, but I do use a good number of their tools, and I think their corporate structure and culture might have some lessons for the education world. As a result, I decided I’d like to see the Google in action at the Google Teacher Academy in NYC this [...] |
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