There’s an interesting interview with Diane Ravitch in Slate, where this former assistant secretary of Education under George H.W. Bush talks about how she became an outspoken critic of testing and No Child Left Behind and how she changed her mind. I wrote about her book here. I’ve always been a big fan of HowardContinue reading “Diane Ravitch on Being Wrong”
Category Archives: Resources
Draft Homework Policy from Davis, California
In Davis, California, a committee that had been working on a draft policy submitted its report to the Board of Education for review last week. Take a look at the report. It has many family friendly recommendations and, where the people in the committee disagreed with each other, they wrote their own dissents. Here areContinue reading “Draft Homework Policy from Davis, California”
The Needs of 21st-Century Students
I recommend watching this video, where Yong Zhao, a Distinguished Professor of Education at Michigan State University, talks about how students need room to discover and learn, not subscribe to a set of rules and interests dictated to them from the outside.
High-Stakes Testing Isn’t Beneficial says Former Assistant Secretary of Education
Yesterday’s Mom on a Mission isn’t the only person to think that high-stakes testing isn’t beneficial. Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch, once a staunch supporter of No Child Left Behind, is now an outspoken critic with a new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System. One of her biggestContinue reading “High-Stakes Testing Isn’t Beneficial says Former Assistant Secretary of Education”
The Flat World and Education
(I’ll be back after Winter Break, on February 22.) I highly recommend Linda Darling-Hammond’s new book, The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future. As Howard Gardner states in his blurb, “Anyone who desires a quantum leap in the educational achievements of American students – as opposed to theContinue reading “The Flat World and Education”
Playing to Learn
Yesterday’s New York Times had a wonderful op-ed by Susan Engel, Playing to Learn, about the pressing need to completely overhaul the education system. Instead of schools focusing so much on standards and facts, the author writes: So what should children be able to do by age 12, or the time they leave elementary school?Continue reading “Playing to Learn”
ADHD – Medical Problem? Parenting Problem? Teaching Problem?
Listen to this interesting discussion on ADHD on BAM! Radio.
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”
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”
GreatSchools Posts Several Articles on Homework
The website, Great Schools, just published a series of articles on homework, including an interview with me. When I was doing research for my book, I found that everyone, including the National PTA and the National Education Association referred to the 10-minute rule, but I never did discover its origin. But in reading the piecesContinue reading “GreatSchools Posts Several Articles on Homework”
Stop Homework 