Ecology of Education

In Teaching, Impact Matters

1986.  That was a big year for me.  I was 12, in sixth grade, liked Garfield, Opus the Penguin, was “going” with a boy named Kevin, liked Zingers and Corn-nuts, loved my class and my friends, and had suffered a pointed moment of tween angst when my mom made me wear a training bra to [...]

Rigor vs Vigor

I hear parents, teachers, administrators and politicians speak about education a lot, and too often I hear them speak of the need for more rigor in school.

Before blindly accepting the need for more rigor, I would like us to look more closely at the definition of rigor:

Maybe We Should Just Go Back Outside and Teach

In the 500 years since Columbus’s Big Misunderstanding in the “West Indies”, our education system has come a long way.  After manhandling the country away from the natives (who’s “schools” probably consisted of ridiculously worthless lessons like feeding your family, shelters that last, and building fires without zippos, anyway) we’ve managed to construct an institution that has [...]

i-Gadgets, Accessories, & Apps We Might (Never) See

I keep waiting for Steve Job’s introduction of Apple’s iGadget line, supposedly already in prototype production.  According to rumors I’m making up and circulating, the iGadget line is intended to be a complete lifestyle suite of gadgets, accessories, and apps to improve our i-lives.   I secured this incomplete list of products from my imagination. iWipe: [...]

Do I Tip the Local Car Washers? (and lessons learned driving in Greece)

Some things I learned during two weeks of driving in Greece. Horn blowing and fist shaking are commonly practiced forms of communication. Becoming fluent in this “tongue” should be a top priority. The surest ways to give away your identity as a tourist: Use your blinker Stop at stop signs Give pedestrians the right of [...]

Studying the Social (Even Without the Social Studies)

Building and understanding community, a microcosm of society, is (or should be) a pillar of our education system. However, dwindling attention to civics and the social studies pushes such learning to the periphery, if taught at all. Like parents who sneak veggies into their kids’ food, teachers can find ways to slip it in, especially with quality literature.

Curiosity: The Curricular Cindarella

Curiously, curiosity is no-where to be found in reform measures being debated today.  Rather, curiosity is left to scrub the proverbial floors of our education institutions.  It’s the forgotten and malnourished stepdaughter of NCLB and mistreated stepsister of Race to the Top.  Click on some of the speeches by President Obama and Secretary Duncan and [...]

D’oh! Another Learning Experience!

Laurence J. Peter once said, There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience, and that is not learning from experience. I love this quote.  Simple, humorous, and a rather large kernel of truth. Here on Thursday Round-up (in which students and I reflect on and write about something we’ve learned this week), [...]

Dick Cheney’s IB Program: Intimidate from the Bottom

Cheney as the US Inquisitor General of Education, Part 3 (Part 1, Part 2) In a rare slip of Cheney’s iron-fisted totalitarianism, a document from the desk of our nation’s Inquisitor General of Education was leaked to the press yesterday. The document outlines what appears to be plans for a supplemental program in support of [...]

Finding Woodstock Today

Hindsight has judged Woodstock well, especially against the bilious contrast of today’s gun wielding protesters at town halls meetings. “Where have all the flower children gone?” one might ask. Well, reading the myriad 40th anniversary Woodstock rememberances, it would seem that many of them are sitting in front of computer screens and writing.  And, just [...]

Beyond “preparing our kids for 21st-century jobs”

It is long past time to do away with sloganeering about “preparing our kids for 21st-century jobs.”

This cliché, and others like it, contributes to a narrative that cheapens the work of educators and shrinks the province of education to something that is done purely “in preparation” for something more “real,” more substantial or meaningful – i.e., a job. But it is a colossal mistake to think and speak about K-16 education as though it were nothing more than extended job-training.

Dick Cheney: The New Inquisitor General of Education (parody)

Yesterday Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, named former Vice President Dick Cheney, Inquisitor General of Education.  In his new post, Cheney will head the Battling Remissness by Utilizing Tyranny in Education (or BRUTE) task force.  Their mission: Saving America from poor test scores. “This is a great opportunity for our children, and our schools, [...]

On Getting Schooled & Finishing Last

Recently I had the opportunity to be “That Guy”.  You know the Guy: the Guy everyone loves; the guy everyone pities. The Guy who makes everyone feel better about themselves, because, let’s face it, at least they aren’t him. Who is he? He’s the Guy who finishes dead last. The Guy everyone beats. It was [...]

One Way Accountability?

1.  Quality education should . . . A.    Fill a bucket. B.    Light a fire. C.    Prepare students for performing on multiple choice tests. D.    Provide leverage for political agendas. We live during an exciting period in American education. People are calling for quality schools. Parents imagine their children maintaining a sense of wonder and [...]

On Being Prolific

This may be in complete violation of some unwritten rule of writing etiquette but I am going for it anyway.  I was just going through my page at the English Companion Ning site because I had a new comment there and I found this post I wrote a while back.  For whatever reason, I felt [...]

Race, class, climate change, and outdoor education

A recent post on climate change and race (http://tinyurl.com/b6fzp7) brings up an issue that really needs to be on the forefront of outdoor and environmental education moving forward. It is becoming increasingly clear that climate change will become the defining issue of our times. Just as with civil rights in the 1960′s, this will require [...]

How people Learn – Part 1

“Learning styles” seem to be very popular these days in education.  However, the notion that each person learns differently is likely a myth (Olson, 2006; Feldon, 2005; Willingham, 2005). It is not a different learning style students enter instruction with, but different prior knowledge and experiences. In fact, when students receive instruction within their “style” of [...]

Science Goals for Students

So what is it that we want students to gain from a k-12 science education? What are the goals we should constantly work to promote in students? Considering that rote memorization of scientific ideas leads to little understanding, I have identified ten goals for students that focus on life learning skills, and other traits that [...]

The Freedom to Sing

This week, while walking around the hallways and classrooms of my school, I found myself acutely aware of all of the different noises that take place on a daily basis. There were the typical facility-related sounds, such as bells signifying the change of classes and doors opening and closing. I heard phones ringing, papers rustling [...]