April 2011 Blog Posts (62)

This weekend, I invested in a set of Henkel knives.  I am in awe of these knives; I can’t imagine that we have managed to cook without them at all.  This morning, I cut some celery sticks for lunch – and they cut like butter. 

Living in a world of metaphors, I thought about how we resource our schools. 

Do we always identify and…

As a Superintendent, I am often (daily if not hourly) in the position to communicate bad news. For example, early last week we shared information about a troubling incident involving some of our middle school students. Over the last few weeks I have been able to have lunch with the staff at five of our buildings. Part of having lunch was to talk with staff about how the year was going and part was to share the bad news about what the spring will be like as we establish the budget for…

In this op/ed in the WSJ Scott Adams articulates a number of experiences that chronicle what he regards as the most important, useful lessons he has learned.  It reminded me of an op/ed in the Boston Globe recently (memory failing at the moment) by a Boston College professor who lamented that the students he is seeing today have been deprived of the opportunity to flounder.   One of…

Can you imagine what it would be like if teachers were treated like actors, athletes, and singers, hey, even reality tv "stars?" Life would be so different for us.



"Mrs.Smith, Mrs.Smith, can I get your autograph?" She turned and smiled at the young woman running towards her.



"Mrs.Smith", she gasped," I have been following your career for years! I'm about to start teaching myself. She handed Mrs.Smith a copy of her book.



"Are you ready for it, young lady?' she…

In a time of accelerated and massive change, when conventional resources are quickly being depleted, cooperative effort is needed to navigate the “rapids of change.”

ABSTRACT

The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation. Bertrand Russell

Cooperative Learning is one of the best researched fields of classroom based practice in the world. Teachers and researchers across several continents…

The majority of the kids I teach are extremely motivated to get into the best college they can possibly get into.  The condition does allow me to make the observation that part of my role as teacher has gravitated toward coaching students into grade profiles, which is a much less complicated job than authentic teaching.  The result has been that teaching practice rarely, if ever,  is the topic of deliberative conversation at my school.  We talk a lot about individuals and program and a…

I spent an hour yesterday working with our Academic Resource Specialist trying to decide exactly which set of scoring results will make the most amount of sense for the battery of standardized tests our students have now completed.

One hour.

What should be cross-checked with what and which version should be sent to whom?Longitudinal data over how many different data points in which sections from when to when?  Do we err on the side of sharing too much…

The other day I came a cross a tweet that asked what they key to classroom management was.  The first word that came to my mind was predictability.

Now before I explain...a little disclaimer.  This is not about "control" - it's about creating "conditions."  The word management seems to have fallen so far out of favor that it feels necessary to use "air quotes" each time we…

They thought we were sleeping. They thought we were lulled into complacency with reality TV, cable television, DVR, fast food, and the latest tech gadgets. They were wrong! Gov. Scott Walker thought no one was paying attention. He thought he could scale back collective bargaining rights of state workers, and no one would notice. Shhhh!



However, the sleeping giant awakened, and proved that America was still the land of the free. I am proud of the teachers in Wisconsin.…

Why would we ever believe that anything less than providing for individual needs, interests, abilities – gifts and talents would ever be good enough for all of our children? 

Throughout my career, I have been committed to children and their learning with particular focus on the inclusion of students with special needs.  I didn’t enter the profession intending that inclusion would be a focus in my career – I was blissfully unaware of exclusion. …

Over the last few years I have spent a fair amount of time reading the Tao Te Ching, a collection of verses authored by the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu. Now I have been aware of this book for a long time, however, it's only in the last few years that I've really come to know it, study it, and reflect on the profound messages within it.  It is a very short book - it can be read in one sitting - but the messages last forever.  This is a book written 2500 years ago that is still relevant…

When crisis mode becomes the norm, you know you have a problem.  When more of what you are doing is reactive instead of proactive, you know you have a problem.  Architecture seems like such a frothy (think latte) thing to be concerned about, but I HAVE A PROBLEM and it has to do with the way teaching space is designed. At my school teachers are not consulted about anything with respect to classroom design.  The guy who decided upon and installed the LCD projector, a wonderful guy, is a handy…

As a parent we want our children to live up to their fullest potential.  We do everything in our power to guide their lives and mold their events to allow our children to grow and develop into amazing adults. If they fall short we are there to support them and get them back on track. Throughout their entire childhood, all we can do his hope and pray that they will work to their fullest potential.  Nothing makes a parent more proud than seeing their child working to their fullest…