Thinking About Education

I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think. ~Socrates

Tiger Basketball

  Inspired by one of my young students, this poem is especially for children who prefer visual art expression to reading and writing   TIGER BASKETBALL   I see the lines I see the color   They are bold And they are bright   I see a tiger in the basketball I see a panther in the night   I love to paint I love to draw   It doesn’t matter If “was” is.. Read More

Data Central = Bad Karma

  Public schools in my area have developed a new karma over the last decade: data central.  It was student central for a while, but alas, like many other movements in education, it was replaced by something perceived to be bigger and better. What could be more scientific and certain than basing decisions on data? And which data are the most important?  Student performance data, of course. We measure our schools by how.. Read More

“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.” ~Plato

  There has been a lot of talk about how best to evaluate teachers lately, especially with the “new” movement to include student test data as part of a teacher’s evaluation. Diane Ravitch’s blog has provided much evidence about how student test data has been shown not to be a good measure of teacher quality. So what is a good measure of teacher quality, and why is this question one we find it.. Read More

The Lost Art of Storytelling?

  My parents are the most literate people I know. They are in their 80’s and still attend a monthly book group where group members, including retired English professors, discuss an important book they have all read. They still learn and grow from such an experience. As a group they understand, connect, enrich, and enlarge upon the stories they read and tell. There is nothing quite like a discussion of a good book.. Read More

The Carrots and Sticks of PBIS

  “PBIS” stands for Positive Behavior Interventions and Support. This is one of the groundswell initiatives moving through the schools in our area right now. It’s hard to argue with its premise: let’s focus ourselves on promoting good behavior rather than on punishing bad behavior. Let’s celebrate victories not wallow in failures. Let’s be positive, not negative. Sounds good on the surface. If you look at research about motivating human behavior, however, we.. Read More

“Learning is the only thing for you.” ~T. H. White, The Once and Future King

  “It is one of our greatest experiences, as advanced educators, to know the motivational content of our subjects, and to deliberately inspire our students with the love of content that they would have been unlikely ever to have known without our teaching. It is the special opportunity for grammar teachers to show students why grammar is beautiful and fun, and it is the special privilege of the calculus teacher to show students.. Read More

“Elementary, My Dear Watson”

  Sherlock Holmes was definitely in his element when he was solving crimes: passionate, engaged, using his natural ability and skills to the maximum. That is why we so enjoy Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories. Ken Robinson has talked and written a good deal about the “element,” that place where a person thrives as a creative individual (see for example, his book The Element). Not everyone finds his or her element, but it.. Read More

EOGs (End-of-Grade Tests)

  I always know when they are coming Discipline referrals soar Teachers’ complaints and voices are louder Some even break down, yelling or crying   The tests begin Tension is still high But it lowers all week Until emotions are back to normal   But the scores are so important That the rest of the year we re-teach And re-test So students have ample chance to do their best, Again, And then Summer.. Read More

The Freedom to Fail

I was complaining recently to my best friend from 7th grade who now (40 years later) lives across the continent. I said I failed to get the job I wanted and felt I had earned. She reminded me that failure was nothing new to me, so what was I moaning about?  And then I remembered so many failures…and all the wonderful things I learned from them: Choosing to ride the Tower of Terror.. Read More

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