Category Archives: General

The Trouble with Kindergarten

If you’re not aware of what students are required to do in kindergarten these days, be sure to read this article in Rethinking Schools titled “Testing Kindergarten: Young Children Produce Data, Lots of Data.” A teacher with 6-years’ experience in the Milwaukee Public Schools writes about how little recess and nap time her students getContinue reading “The Trouble with Kindergarten”

What Makes a Great Teacher (cont’d)

In today’s Washington Post online, Jay Mathews runs a beautiful piece by my favorite education blogger, Susan Ohanian, where she describes how she engaged kids when she was a teacher. Susan is much too modest to call herself a great teacher, but she certainly deserves that title. Here’s how it starts: Eons ago, I persuadedContinue reading “What Makes a Great Teacher (cont’d)”

Remember to Say Thank You

I always encourage parents to write thank you notes when they appreciate something that a teacher or administrator has done. (There are a few examples in The Case Against Homework.) Shelli and Tom Milley, the couple from Calgary, Canada who recently negotiated an opt-out-of-homework contract with their children’s school, wrote a beautiful letter to theContinue reading “Remember to Say Thank You”

What Makes a Great Teacher (cont’d)

Last week, I posted a piece, What Makes A Great Teacher, and many of the commenters to yesterday’s post wrote about good teachers as well. In this week’s Teachers College Record, there’s also a very good piece, “What It Takes to Become a Great Teacher.” The author writes: If we really want good schools, weContinue reading “What Makes a Great Teacher (cont’d)”

Putting a Halt on Homework – Barrie, Ontario, Canada

In an article in the December 2009 issue of the Ontario Principals’ Council Exemplary Leadership In Public Education, Jan Olson, the principal of the Barrie, Ontario, Canada school which eliminated homework last year, and some teachers from that school, write about their experiences with no homework and why adopting a no homework policy is soundContinue reading “Putting a Halt on Homework – Barrie, Ontario, Canada”

TED Lecture – Self-Discipline, Motivation, and Responsibility at Work

Last week, Jan Olson, the principal of the Barrie, Ontario, Canada elementary school that abolished homework, told me how much he liked this TED lecture by Sugata Mitra. Mitra, a professor of educational technology, conducted several “Hole in the Wall” experiments in India, where he left computers embedded in walls in areas where kids hadContinue reading “TED Lecture – Self-Discipline, Motivation, and Responsibility at Work”