These words gave me chills when I read them … and again when I re-read them. Delivered by Bill Moyers to the Council of Great City Schools on October 27, 2006.
Teach your kids they don’t have to accept what they have been handed. Teach them they are not only equal citizens under the law, [...]

I’ve been thinking lately about the difference between teaching knowledge and teaching skills. As the internet changes how we find and use knowledge, it becomes increasingly clear that what we should be teaching are the skills: research, critical analysis, writing, reading a variety of texts, speaking and presenting, etc.
When I hear teachers bemoan the [...]

Doug Noon added a post to his blog, Borderland, that addresses important but complex ideas.  His basic argument is that our current model for schools is outdated and probably past the point where mere "reform" can help.  Instead, we need to let go of the old model and construct a new one.  Unfortunately, there’s no [...]

A friend of mine recently told me she was growing concerned because her son, an elementary-school student, started saying he "hates school." It’s troubling, and by the time students reach high school, most feel the same way.
What shocks me is not that students say they hate school–that’s nothing new–but that the adult world doesn’t [...]

According to a recent article in the Washington Post, high-achieving students can now apply to George Mason University without taking the SAT.
Admissions officials said high school students who rank in the top 20 percent of their class and have a grade-point average of 3.5 or better can apply without submitting SAT scores. Instead, the students [...]

Wired News recently published an articled entitled “Neutral Net? Who Are You Kidding?” which called into question the idea that the net is currently a “neutral zone,” arguing instead that the internet has always been subject to the control of those companies with the most money/customers/bandwidth. This is true, but the proposed regulations (conveniently [...]

Not long ago, I posted an entry in which I supported maintaining the freedom to access and share information, tools, and resources. I still agree with that. I also understand the dangers that some of the information, tools, and resources bring with them. However, I don’t believe that the right response to [...]

I’ve always been a big fan of "letting people do stuff" … assuming that stuff doesn’t include anything that hurts other people. Of course, there will always be people who hurt other people, and we call them "mean people," and–as t-shirts have been telling us for years–mean people suck. But you don’t put the entire [...]

Maybe it’s just interesting timing, or synchronicity, or maybe it’s because we tend to see the things we’re looking for, but I’ve come across two sources in the last few days that take up the question “why learn this?” in relation to writing and literature.The first is Sheridan Blau’s The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and [...]

A problem that I’m working on, and want to remind myself to continue solving. Also, probably a problem that I will continue to work on for most (or all) of my life. Why should people learn anything beyond that which is required for survival? And specifically, why should anyone learn whatever it [...]