As you might guess, I am not employed solely to write a blog. That means that I don’t necessarily have all the time in the world to follow each development, large and small, in the great big world of education. Still, I try to keep my eye on things, write about what I know, and…
Education Reform
Answer the Teacher Prep Critics
I took a nontraditional route to teaching. I’m sure you’re not surprised. After a decade as a cubicle dweller, two untimely layoffs within a year were enough to make me finally take the step I had been contemplating for a long time. With little advance preparation, I took the Massachusetts teaching licensure exam, which, when…
Happy Birthday to NCLB
Today is No Child Left Behind’s 11th birthday. And while that does not mean that we should also be singing happy birthday to the standardized test, it does mean that we’ve seen a lot more of the standardized test’s face around the classroom in the last 11 years. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) marked the…
Thoughts on Pineapplegate?
I never would have thought that one of my favorite exports from Hawaii and the animal that inspired my favorite cartoon character would play such an interesting role in the discussions surrounding education reform. Yet there they were, the pineapple and the hare, driving students and teachers to distraction. In a bit of absurdity that would…
An Invitation From the Upper Grades Exchange
When looking back over the year of Upper Grades Exchange posts I wrote in 2011 for a “year in review” post I never finished, it was not difficult to see that you—my readers—are most likely to react and comment on topics that involve some amount of controversy. Technology in the classroom, education reform, class sizes,…
Observations
I cannot remember what I preferred when it came to classroom observations. Sometimes I knew my principal was coming; other times she just walked right in through the open door and took a seat at the back. Without a doubt, I know my students’ demeanor changed within the space of one-millionth of a nanosecond. It…
The Next Great Debate? Probably not.
The next great cataclysmic education reform debate is about to erupt with the power of several hundred burning suns. Or maybe not. Perhaps the next great education reform debate will fizzle out like a damp firecracker in a rainstorm. Cursive handwriting: in the standards or not? Mrs. Worthy, Mrs. Singer, and Mr. Winters all managed…
Let the Students Lead?
I’ve just finished reading a thought-provoking newspaper op-ed about a small experiment at a high school in western Massachusetts. A local writer followed a group of high school students (including two kids on the verge of dropping out) as they spent an entire school year planning, writing, and following their own curriculum. The students acted…