Blogging changing geogrpahy? Interesting article.

Here is a little experiment staring in September in Miami. A three year high school option? I guess if its an option, but some of my favorite classes were ones that I didn't have to take. I link, you decide.

I'm going to spend some of this summer working on this blog experiment. Eventually I'd like to see how big I can make this. So posts will be few and far between.

Before you read this here is the caveat: I know it is a long article, but you have all summer. We've talked about "peer" review, read this and let me know what you think. Just a tease quote - I'm not this authoritarian figure standing up there teaching at them as much. I have to do the planning and the organizing, and I have to know what my goals and expectations are. So much of it is the kids doing it. I give the directions, step back, and become the facilitator. The kids are the ones who are actually doing the thinking, the activity, the interacting, and then I'm just bringing them back at the end to do some of the self-evaluation and self-perception. If you want a quick but concise definition of lesson study then read this. After you read, this will make more sense: Dan and I could help with SS, Travis and Eric could help me with Writing, Ben could help Eric and Travis with math, etc. (I'm focusing on teachers expertise.) Should be fun.

I have in the last few school years became a believer in "choice" for students. But, what about choices for schools? Obviously unions oppose charter schools for numerous reasons and they would hurt public schools in the short run. However take a long term view of charters: The competition they provide would be good for all education levels. I don't think that curriculum should be based on a business model but free-market education would be interesting to see. In Buffalo NY, they are dealing with this issue, here is a taste of the article: "It's like building a Burger King across the street from a McDonald's," said David Bouie, principal of Buffalo United Charter School, one of five new charters that will open in the city next school year. "You have to make your product more appealing and then find a way to keep your customers." Ok, I know you could find that quote wrong on so many levels but read between the lines.

The title of this article caught my attention. Though change may come at a glacial pace at least there are people talking about the need for a change. Even if it is in the Czech Republic. It has to start somewhere.

When I first read this article I thought, it's to bad that schools, districts, and states have to jump thorugh so many hoops just to operate. Then the cynic in me began to wonder how long it will be when every kid is "special need" and they'll get the best test accomodations because of a noticeable limp or a lazy eye?

Here is a subject that seems real obvious but was studied anyway. Here is a snippet: Public schoolchildren who attended kindergarten for a full day showed more reading improvement than those enrolled in half-day programs, according to an analysis by the National Center for Education Statistics. No kidding.

TW - Your last post was interesting. I agree with you, but the testing-nation we have become will not allow for a lot of integration. A section the No Child Left Behind act (NCLB) stipulates that teachers must be "highly qualified" in the subject area they teach. On the surface that seems important, and in a way it is. But the expertise in one field or one subject will cause many new hires to think that integration is an anomaly of the 1970's.

A busy last couple of days, coupled with a busy, hot, smelly weekend mean lite "blogging." Here is a thought to chew on:

Let's hope that the blogosphere does not become known as nothing but a land of destruction.

Tearing down people can be deserved. It can be fun. It can be righteous good work.

But if all you do is destroy -- and complain and carp and snark -- you don't build, you don't contribute.

Jeff Jarvis via instapundit


On our "blog" there seems to be a lot of negativity, that's true and intentional. Public Schools in America are not sacred cows and there needs to be dialogue about educational problems. But the quote caused me to stop and think for a minute.

When will this be the norm and not this. TW you make a good point. Too many variables go into a student being "prepared" and only one person held accountable. It (testing) will get much worse before it gets better.

There has been a lot of talk about standards and how far and fast districts and schools have to go to meet them. What is interesting about this article is it's comparison with the one from yesterday. Bellevue, WA is akin to Beverly Hills, and recently 5 local schools were recognized nationally, but at what price? Here is a quote from a student: "AP has turned into its own monster," said Evyn Williams, editor-in-chief of the Newport High School student newspaper, Knightlife. "There's a mentality at our school that if you take regular classes, you're a slacker." Read the article. Nothing against the teachers or the superintendent but in this case I'll believe the kid. Why would he have to lie about what other kids say or the pressure that he may feel?

This sums it up in a nutshell - It also raises the larger question of what to do for future classes. Should schools adopt, as Somerville did, a focused -- some would say narrowed -- curriculum that marches lockstep with MCAS? Or risk, as Cambridge did, a less-scripted approach that preserves a diversity of curricular offerings but might leave students ill-prepared for the all-important test? Or is there, perhaps, a better, middle way? Comparing two Massachusets districts, people were surprised that the lower to mid - income district did better on the state test than the more affluent. Why? Oh yeah, they teach to the test.