EricHoefler.com

Can It Happen Here?

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Comments Off

It’s been an interesting couple of years for me, wading around in the online education discussions. I’m wondering, though, if we’re making any progress toward genuine reform (beyond what the cool tech tools are and how they can be used … or sharing lesson plans and personal experiences). It seems to me that substantial progress [...]

No Surprise to Me

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Comments Off

TMAO brought my attention to these prepared remarks of California Democratic Congressman George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. TMAO quotes this line: Even with all of these changes, we will not meet our national goal of closing the achievement gap until and unless we close the teacher quality gap. While I strongly [...]

A Positive Stance

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

2 Comments

While I disagree with the way NCLB has been conceived and enforced, I agree with this approach from teachers to students: We decided it was our duty to do everything we could to help our students beat this test—everything, that is, except give up powerful, purposeful instruction. I’ve also found that an “outside enemy” (like a standardized [...]

Remember Their Bodies

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

6 Comments

This year, for the first time in nine years, I won’t be planning for school to start next month. That doesn’t mean I’m not thinking about it, though, and my first thoughts are usually about the physical space of the learning environment. The Problem In an earlier post, responding to a “layout of your working space” [...]

Elmore via McCleod

Thursday, July 5, 2007

4 Comments

Scott McCleod pointed to Richard F. Elmore’s UCEA conference presentation a few days ago and hosted the mp3 on his site. I gave it a listen. (His presentation is a bit dry, but substantive … and McCleod’s list of examples of misalignment are also helpful.) Elmore provides data and studies that [...]

60-30-10

Thursday, May 17, 2007

3 Comments

The end of the year can be a trying time for teachers, particularly teachers of seniors. The concept of “one more month” translates roughly into “school’s over” (or, if they’re trying to be considerate, “school’s practically over”). If it wasn’t there already, a hatred of school grows quickly during this final month like [...]

More on Fairfax’s Anti-NCLB Stance

Thursday, March 22, 2007

1 Comment

Marc Fisher’s article is appropriately biting, and as far as I’m concerned, he nails it. He’s reporting Jack Dale’s refusal to administer standardized reading tests to recent immigrants. The standoff between Fairfax County and the federal government is creating a stir in the waters of the Potomac, and the stirring gives me hope that we [...]

Well, I Guess It’s Progress

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

2 Comments

Most Boston high schools start at 7:20 a.m. The 10 schools, which have not yet been chosen, will be able to choose starting times ranging from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Education Week: Boston to Allow 10 Schools to Switch to Later Start Times It’s a nod towards designing schools based on current best research, but [...]

Still Sitting Still

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Comments Off

Teacher Magazine published an article entitled “The Problem with Class-Size Reduction” by Bill Ferriter.1 While I understand his argument and his conclusion, the implications are desperately and infuriatingly off point. This is not directed at Mr. Ferriter specifically2 but at a general culture that I find too often in the world of education, one that [...]

TTeach and Others Like It

Thursday, March 1, 2007

Comments Off

A comment on an earlier post asking if anyone had information about tteach led me to Peter Rock’s blog entry. There, he says of tteach: Paying teachers through advertising revenue is unwise pedagogy. The site says that “tteach is essentially School 2.0″. Apparently, School 2.0 is really about placing profit over students. gnuosphere: School 2.0 [...]

Make the Analogy Better

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

9 Comments

I’ve seen a number of “argument by analogy” examples in the last month or so related to the ongoing NCLB debate (and have made a few of these arguments myself). All arguments of this sort are, of course, inadequate, but they can also be helpful. However, I started thinking about the teacher/doctor analogy today. [...]

Virginia Counties in Defiance

Friday, February 23, 2007

1 Comment

Here in Virginia, Fairfax county has rejected the state’s standardized test (and hence NCLB) for immigrant children. The Fairfax County School Board passed a resolution last month to defy the mandate, saying it is unfair to give such an exam to students just beginning to grasp the nuances of English. Fairfax Schools Could Lose Millions for [...]