EricHoefler.com

Teaching is Consequential

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

After what seems like an entire year spent pondering my own path to happiness, I think I’ve finally come to an understanding that is helpful … at least for me. It happened while I was compiling a list of “quotes to live by” for my MySpace page, which in turn was prompted by [...]

The Problem is Gaining National Recognition

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

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I first heard about The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce on Will Richardson’s blog. He tells us that the full 200+ page study from the National Center on Education and the Economy will be released on Amazon this Friday. You can read the summary by downloading the PDF. Two choice [...]

When Will We Listen?

Monday, December 11, 2006

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Lots of people seem to be blogging about the latest education article in Time magazine, titled “How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century.” (You can’t get to the full article without a subscription, but your public library has access to tons of online databases … it’s worth the few minutes of [...]

Studios and Studiousness

Friday, December 1, 2006

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The Brooklyn Free School is an “institutional” example of “unschooling”that I wrote about a few days ago. My same agreements and concernsapply to both, and some of my concerns are apparently shared by parents andorganizers of the free school, evidenced by a few requirements that are startingto creep in: Students will soon have to meet [...]

Evolving Manifestos

Thursday, November 30, 2006

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Clarence Fisher posted his “Mini-Manifesto for Classrooms 2.0” on his blog yesterday. I’ve been working on a manifesto, too … but on my wiki (so I can keep changing it … plus, I don’t have the time or discipline right now to craft a 500-word-or-less version). I particularly like what he has to say about [...]

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Sunday, November 26, 2006

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Home Schoolers Content to Take Children’s Lead – New York Times Today’s New York Times carried an article about “unschooling,” a subculture in home schooling where the learning is led completely by the interests of the child. a philosophy that is broadly defined by its rejection of the basic foundations of conventional education, including not only the [...]

Jay Points to Some of the Dumb

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

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I don’t always agree with Jay Matthews, and definitely don’t agree with his ranking system that relies almost exclusively on test scores, but I do agree with this comment from his recent article in the Washington Post: Governors, as well as school board members, do have the power to make schools better, but very few have [...]

Bill Moyers on Education

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

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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, [...]

Dinosaurs, Schools, and Fossil Fuels

Friday, June 2, 2006

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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 [...]

Why Kids Hate School

Thursday, June 1, 2006

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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 [...]