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January 2006
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EDUCATION REFORM Category Archive
5017
Note: At right is a list of the 43 entries in the "Education Reform" archive (most recent first).
Below, the entries are listed again in expanded form, with a short excerpt or summary from each entry.Education Reform Archives
Carnival of Education Week 50 January 18, 2006
For an excellent sampling of the best the Education Blogosphere has to offer, please check out Week 50 of the Carnival of Education, which is published by the good folks at The Education Wonks....
A few words on accountability. January 14, 2006
When a student graduates from high school, yet cannot read, the question is "how did this happen?" Usually the response from the educational community is to shrug their collective shoulders and say, "We have no idea, but it's worthy of study." This apparently is quite an imponderable, for kids have been graduating for years without basic skills (or maybe they...
Part II: Are public schools unfairly under attack? January 04, 2006
In this second part of a two-part series, we continue our response to Mark Manley's argument at Thespis Journal that public schools are unfairly maligned. He writes: By continually depleting funds from the public education system, mandating that public schools must subject their students to an endless battery of high stakes tests, and by creating a system of mismanaged, inexplicable,...
Part I: Anecdotal Evidence Piles Up, but Sunlight Disinfects! January 03, 2006
We recently had a positive email exchange with Mark Manley, who writes Thespis Journal, and among other things is a public high school teacher in Xenia, Ohio. Mr. Manley inspired our article last week about how there's no war on public education, just battles waged against incompetence and problematic areas within public education. He feels there should be more balance...
Myth: There's a War against Public Education December 28, 2005
An interesting exchange occurred recently online. Michelle Malkin posted a column called "Indoctrination, Not Education" containing the line "Reason number 95,385 to keep your kids out of government schools" and some folks took umbrage. Essentially her column simply contained two instances of students being subjected to the political biases of their teachers, with no commentary from Ms. Malkin other than...
Yes, Dedicated Teachers Fail Kids December 15, 2005
Via yesterday's Carnival of Education: 8th grade teacher PostHipChick wrote about her frustration at the lack of progress her students are making, writing "I did grades this week; almost exactly 50% of my students are getting F's in my classes." She then wrote of the standing-on-one's-head efforts she's put into getting her charges to learn, and her chagrin at not...
Declaration of Beliefs and Visions in Philadelphia July 25, 2004
We're not usually fond of mission statements, especially for groups like schools where the mission should be painfully obvious without all the hype. Mission statements in the wonderland of modern education tend to focus on blather such as "all children will become life-long learners" and at least one gratuitous reference to "Diversity." But mission statements can help to clarify an... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (1)
NAACP: "Keep your children in failing schools" June 29, 2004
In Thomas Sowell's most recent column, he writes: People sometimes ask if I have tried to convince black "leaders" to take a different view on racial issues. Of course not. I wouldn't spend my time trying to persuade the mafia to give up crime. Why should I spend time trying to convince race hustlers to give up victimhood? It's their... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Politics
, Racial Issues
Comments (4)
The British standard in Ethiopia June 08, 2004
A personal story: I've been haunting the construction site of the forthcoming Cira Center, where the best vantage point is from a newly-completed 10-level parking garage bordering the future skyscraper. Just so they don't think I'm yet another suspicious character, I've made friends with the staff that works at the garage, and most are from Africa: Sierra Leone, Liberia and... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (7)
Reflections on Brown: Black school, White school May 20, 2004
Kimberly Swygert yesterday directed our attention to a very revealing story about two schools, one black, one white. The black school is struggling, and the white school is soaring, and we've all heard it before. This one would seem destined for the files of "separate and unequal" and would make good fodder for the argument that Brown v. Board of... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Misconceptions
, Racial Issues
, Success Stories
Comments (3)
Reflections on Brown: More segregation today? May 18, 2004
As with the elimination of slavery, the prohibition of Jim Crow era separate-but-equal laws helped bring America one step closer to living up to her founding principle of equality for all. Unfortunately, in marking the anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, many folks are observing that "today's schools are almost as segregated as fifty years ago." In a recent... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Misconceptions
, Politics
, Racial Issues
Comments (1)
Reflections on Brown: A racial problem? May 17, 2004
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, which eventually helped break down the color barrier in public education where it previously had been enforced by law. Today, many people are wondering about the racial gap that still exists in public education in America. It is a sad fact that in our cities,... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Misconceptions
, Racial Issues
Comments (4)
Free Market Triptych (part two): Freedom to Teach May 15, 2004
One of the best ways to solve many of our current educational problems is to have K-12 education join the free market. Most folks who talk about the free market are concerned with the free choices available in the consumer market, as we discussed last time. While "voting with one's wallet" is an extremely potent force, there are two other... Posted by ceb into Cert. & Teacher Training
, Education Reform
, Teachers & Admin.
Comments (4)
Placing the blame for school failure April 15, 2004
While in a philosophical mood recently, we tried to get a "big picture" of school failure here in the United States. What inspired this reverie was our frustration at trying to teach tenth graders the Pythagorean theorem. After meeting much resistance and failure, we did quite a bit of probing, and the problem turns out to have nothing to do... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Teachers & Admin.
Comments (1)
Overseas outsourcing: Blame society and standardized tests? March 25, 2004
It seems everyone's talking about the outsourcing of jobs overseas. Some folks argue that there be restrictions on whether companies should be permitted to build overseas, for these factories and other centers of employment take jobs away from Americans. Others say that sure, companies build factories where they can get a steady supply of cheap labor. But if trade policies... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Politics
Comments (2)
News Flash: Same-age children aren't all the same! March 18, 2004
Conventional wisdom says that children are developmentally identical. All three-year-olds have the exact the same capabilities as all other three-year-olds. Being that all children are identical, all five-year-olds should be in kindergarten, and all six-year-olds should be in first grade. Under no circumstances should a six-year-old be placed in second grade. Absurd, right? Any living human being who's been within... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (7)
Consequence of Child-Centered approach: Difference of Opinion March 13, 2004
Earlier today we quoted an Iraqi teacher: "American classrooms are very free. I see in the movies that the students challenge the teachers," said Dalel Khamel, an English-language teacher at the Baghdad High School. It's not just in the movies, Mr. Khamel! One consequence of child-centered approaches is that students begin to feel that they're equal to the teacher, thus... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Progressive Education
Comments (11)
Is Progressive Education coming to Iraq? March 13, 2004
Periodically we like to link to stories related to education in Iraq. (See Iraqi Schools and the U.S. Military and Slice of Life: Iraqi public school students.) But now we have some bad news, more closely related to education reform: Progressive Education may be creeping into Mesopotamia. The title of this Christian Science Monitor article says it all: "Lesson for... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Progressive Education
Comments (1)
Fred on Schools: Guaranteed Reprehensible. March 09, 2004
That irrepressible grouch Fred Reed weighs in today on the unacceptable role of government in our lives, and how we just accept it (we like his take on dogs). Government schools (better known as "public schools") are another unwelcome intrusion into our lives. Says Fred: Why is the government involved in the schools? If the public schools worked, an argument... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (6)
Expectations, Achievement, and the "Toughest grader in the state" March 06, 2004
At one all-black, inner-city high school, there was a conversation between a veteran teacher (who permits calculators in math class), and a new math teacher (who does not): "One thing you have to realize is," as he lowered his voice, "these kids are low achievers. And once you realize that, things go much smoother." I responded, "Well, I want to... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (2)
Middle Schools Begone? March 04, 2004
What is it with these big-city school districts and their crazy egg baskets? Achievement is sorely lagging behind the suburbs and private schools (for lots of very simple reasons, as outlined briefly in our reform blueprint), yet would-be reformers continually jump on each passing fad as if yet more innovation will solve our school problems. The latest basket into which... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Misconceptions
Comments (1)
Taking Criticism . . . and improving the profession. February 10, 2004
A few days ago we pointed out how the dregs of college-bound high school students are attracted to entering the Education field, and over at Joanne Jacobs' place, it ignited a very lively debate. Unfortunately, some teachers in the audience internalized the negative things some folks were saying about the profession. One such heartfelt response to this perceived "teacher bashing"... Posted by ceb into Cert. & Teacher Training
, Education Reform
Comments (7)
Who's visiting ReformK12 in the world? February 01, 2004
(Map created by the good folks at World66.com.) Just from our logs (which don't usually tell us a country) we can see we've been visited by citizens from at least 54 countries and territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (China), India, Iran, Iraq,... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Off topic
Comments (1)
New French Education Reform Blog! January 31, 2004
The birth of a blog is a wonder to behold. From France comes a new blog called ReformEducation (en Français), all of 24 hours old. Of all the international visitors to ReformK12, by far the most people hail from France. We can only imagine that they're struggling with the same reform issues that we have here in the U.S. Using... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Progressive Education
Comments (1)
18 Students Ace Math SAT in one school January 29, 2004
Eighteen students at Desert Vista High School got a perfect 800 on the math SAT, and in the past four years they've either placed first, second or third in the state on the Math portion of the Stanford-9. So how do they do it? Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Math Education
, Success Stories
Comments (11)
Deconstructing "I Am Your Public School" January 26, 2004
Frosty Troy wrote a warm little essay called I Am Your Public School, published by an affiliate of the NEA, the biggest teacher union on the planet. While heartwarming and treacly, the essay appears to have not much basis in reality, but instead repeats the union party line, which insists there's nothing wrong with our public education system (other than... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Misconceptions
, Unions
Comments (6)
The Battle for History Standards in Minnesota January 26, 2004
Excellent news from Minnesota! We've posted previously about our dismay at poorly written standards, especially those at the state level, which is quite a few levels away from the classroom that the standards can be--and have frequently been--disfigured into an incomprehensible mess. But it doesn't have to be that way. Now, in Minnesota, they've completed the final draft of their... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Success Stories
The Death of Excellence January 25, 2004
Here are three related stories on our pursuit of Mediocrity. The War Against Excellence There's a new book by Cheri Pierson Yecke, Minnesota's commissioner of education. In a Townhall review, Jonathan Butcher writes: The War Against Excellence is so meticulously researched and well-documented, so thoroughly explained and rich with supporting evidence that it could only have come from witnessing a... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Unilateral Disarmament of Educational Standards January 14, 2004
Joanne Jacobs has a very interesting Boston Globe report on a Russian immigrant to the U.S. trying to start a charter school. The school design sounds to us like it is very rigorous and clear-headed, but the residents opposed to the school have a handy fallback position: Xenophobia! How quaint, it's like the Cold War all over again. Posted by ceb into Charter Schools
, Education Reform
Slaying Dragons--For the Children! January 11, 2004
We'd like to keep things practical here, so today we offer a blueprint for educational reform, including a list of six dragons. Slaying them would, in our view, go a long way toward solving our educational problems. They are: Lack of Choice, Low Standards, Lack of Discipline, Fuzzy Curriculum, Teacher Indoctrination, and Theory over Practice. This will be a work... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Aligning to Lousy Standards January 04, 2004
There is an increasing push to have "standards-based" education, and a simultaneous push to increase standardized testing, to hold teachers and schools accountable. In theory, this all sounds rational. Unfortunately, we've seen firsthand what happens when the standards are written by committee (as most standards documents are). Wouldn't it be far better for them to be written by teachers who... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Comments (2)
Straight Talk from Philly's Vallas January 03, 2004
From the Washington Post, by way of Joanne Jacobs, some straight talk from Philly schools chief Paul Vallas: "It's not rocket science," he insists. Balance the books. Demand high academic standards and strict accountability systems. Zero tolerance for troublemakers. Smaller class sizes. More after-school programs. Let a hundred experiments bloom. Replicate what works, and junk what doesn't. We're glad Mr.... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
What's wrong with "wonderful" December 28, 2003
Even if we could make all the idiotic ideas and practices of our public schools magically disappear overnight, it would not do the slightest good, as long as the same shallow people were there the next day to find new idiocies to substitute for the hard work of teaching academic skills. - Thomas Sowell What's wrong with wonderful? Well, a... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Education Reform Sampler December 23, 2003
Before enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water.After enlightenment, chopping wood, carrying water. -Zen Proverb No matter the shining promises or "Enlightenment" proffered by Progressive educators, at the end of the day there is still the hard work of teaching children academic knowledge and skills. It's been said that our math curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep. The same... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Major Themes in Education Reform December 21, 2003
There are some major themes to education reform: 1. What we need desperately is a return to a curriculum based upon academic knowledge and skills... ...however, problem solving and critical thinking are mistakenly seen as more important. 2. Progressive pedagogy is a big part of the problem... ...however, most teachers today are trained to use Progressive methods. 3. Innovation is... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Education Reform and Rocket Science December 20, 2003
What do we have against Rocket Scientists? In actuality, we're big fans of rocket scientists. One of the reasons we push for effective education is to give our students the math and science (and english and history and geography as well) they need to become the next generation of rocket scientists. We highly recommend you see (or read) October Sky,... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Changing what we can change December 18, 2003
In conversations with many, many city teachers regarding why our schools aren't better, invariably the talk swings around to two things: the parents and the neighborhood. Talk about setting yourself up for failure! As long as we, in our hearts, honestly believe that the reason why our schools aren't better is because of parents and the neighborhood, then schools will... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
A tale of two extremes December 17, 2003
As discussed yesterday, the traditionalists and the progressives don't exactly see eye to eye. So who's right? One way to compare traditional education with progressive is to examine each taken to its extreme. The philosophy of Traditional education, taken to the extreme, ends up looking a lot like one of our Military Academies such as West Point, Annapolis, or even... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Progressive Education
Comparison of Traditional and Progressive approaches December 16, 2003
The main battleground of Education Reform has been between two warring factions: The Progressive Reformers versus the old-fashioned Traditionalists. Here's a brief overview of each approach to education.... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
, Progressive Education
Comments (2)
Opening Doors (or, "Why We Teach") December 15, 2003
It seems that Public Education is constantly fighting a losing battle with Progressive reformers seeking to dumb down our schools for a host of "wonderful" reasons. This is well documented in Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform by Diane Ravitch. One especially galling example is the head-long assault on the "academic curriculum" (reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history,... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Ten Traits of Highly Effective Schools December 14, 2003
Adapted from Elaine McEwan's excellent book, here's a brief overview of the ten traits. Laboring separately, Parents, Teachers and Administrators cannot change every one of them, but together we can use this blueprint to improve any school. The People The right kind of people breathe life into the bricks and books. The principal, teachers, students, and parents interact with each... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Origins December 11, 2003
We began our quest by helping designing a school. An urban charter school, to be specific. In this effort, we did not want to put our heads together as experienced educators and come up with a pretty good plan for a pretty good school. That's been done any number of times already. We wanted to know what really works in... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
Our Mission December 10, 2003
We are dedicated to getting people to think about the most important part of Education Reform: the Education part. Far too often the focus has been on reform, so much so that there're babies and bathwater flying everywhere. People are so eager for a solution to our educational problems that they seize upon all sorts of new programs and ideas.... Posted by ceb into Education Reform
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