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Joss Whedon on Humanism
Joss Whedon was recently honored with the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism at Harvard University. Part of his acceptance speech is below (link). If you know me, you know that I’ve been a long-time admirer of Whedon as a creator, thinker, and activist as well as a fan of his work, particularly Firefly/Serenity and [...]
Continue reading...I See a Glimmer
14. March 2009
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Yesterday, I lamented another piece of fuzzy-headed writing about education from a major news source. Today, I want to add that the comments, at least, give me hope. Most of them take Brooks to task in one way or another. And even better, the comments chosen in the “Editor’s Selections” list all point to the [...]
Continue reading...Rat on a Wheel
13. March 2009
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I can identify at least two reasons my educational blogging has dwindled so dramatically in the last year: (big obvious one) I left the classroom and (increasingly more obvious one) the arguments around education reform make me tired. I feel like there’s very little that hasn’t already been said, and ignored, by someone, somewhere. Take this [...]
Continue reading...Zotero, Now with Cloud
4. March 2009
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I was a huge fan of Zotero even when it was a local-only extension.1 Now that it will sync across computers and allow online access to your library (with the 1.5 beta), it’s definitely at the top of my list of research tools. The blog post announcing this update is here. For anyone wondering, I think [...]
Continue reading...Herdict.org
1. March 2009
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This looks like a useful service for schools, and Tom Hoffman’s notes here are helpful. It’s important to know what sites are being blocked in which schools. I’d be very curious to see what patterns might emerge from this and whether they follow types of schools, socio-economic status, etc. I also think schools should have to provide [...]
Continue reading...Do Unions Really Think This?
18. December 2008
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I guess I just didn’t realize that teacher unions think the educational system is mostly OK and just want “a whole lot more money … and a whole lot less accountability.” I can at least say that I don’t know any teachers who would agree.
Continue reading...Fewer Know-It-Alls
15. December 2008
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In a post ostensibly about the Michelle Rhee article in Time, Chris Lehmann drops a quote that reaches well beyond Rhee and the pages of that magazine: We need fewer know-it-alls in education today. We need thoughtful, humble people who are willing to acknowledge their uncertainty and still do what they believe to be right. I find [...]
Continue reading...The World (of English) According to Me – Pt. 1
17. June 2008
[I realize this post is long. If you'd rather read this post as black text on white background, you can use the "Print This" link to view the post in that format without actually having to print.] In an earlier post, Humanities and the DY/DAN Method, I linked to Dan Meyer’s blog and his take on [...]
Continue reading...The Other End of the Problem
26. May 2008
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Poverty crouches on one end of the “education problem,” and on the other end perch ridiculously over-priced professions. One example: the models on Deal or No Deal: While several of the models said they could live just on what they earn from the show, it shoots only two or three days every three weeks. [Deal or [...]
Continue reading...I'm Not in the 408
22. May 2008
So TMAO’s post about his decision to leave teaching has made some waves on various blogs. I’d like to offer some personal perspectives (which he’s not asking for), but I’m not interested in second-guessing his reasons. I’m pulling some quotes from his post as a jumping-off point to respond to a few of his comments [...]
Continue reading...Humanities and the DY/DAN Method
18. May 2008
Dan Meyer has a famously-interesting perspective on grading and homework. In a recent post, he offers a scenario of a student (Aaron) who has only attended 20% of the classes but whose grade is a C+. This is possible in Dan’s class because he’s only concerned with assessing a student’s comprehension. In his words: I chase [...]
Continue reading...Fourteen Percent
16. April 2008
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Mike Petrilli, in a recent post on the Flypaper blog, comments on a study in Philadelphia that measured the impact of a “healthy-eating” initiative in schools. Petrilli’s argument is that, since the study found that school intervention in students’ diets measurably decreased the incidence of obesity in those students, schools can have a “big [...]
Continue reading...Welcome
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27. April 2009
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