Play and Being The Change
- Dec
- 31
Recently, a friend challenged a bunch of us to come up with solutions to the culture of violence and exclusion that we have. Certainly, there is no single solution to the events that occur, that sadden and anger us, in a culture that celebrates violence. We cheer when politicians “talk tough”. The more people that [...]
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Dogma and Child Development Part III: Success vs. Failure
- Aug
- 06
A colleague Tweeted the other day that “failure is a far better teacher than success”. I disagree vehemently. But, rather than respond on Twitter where I am restricted to 140 characters, I decided to write this to provide a more nuanced view of my disagreement. This view results from a pendulum swing reaction to the [...]
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Let’s Talk about Tests…Part II
- Jan
- 25
In Part I, I spent all my time indicting our current system of testing, investigating the pros and cons, and discussing the pitfalls. Alright, enough bellyaching about what’s wrong. And let’s put to bed the idea of whether to test or not. We have to – at least until we figure out what works beyond any doubt. We have two questions to answer, which follow below.
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Let’s Talk About Tests…Part I
- Jan
- 23
My purpose here is not to throw out testing entirely, but to curb it and make it more effective.
My purpose here is not to villify those who believe in our current paradigm of high stakes, multiple choice, superficial standardized testing, but to change minds and create an accord.
My purpose is to look at the aforementioned combination of words: high stakes + superficial / multiple choice + standardized = we have a problem.
My purpose here is not to transform our schools into environments where there is no evaluation, no grading – I think evaluation is necessary for teaching. But I think that evaluation needs to measure the progress along a line toward the actual desired product – students who can process information, take initiative, and innovate.
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Solving Education – Big Huge Barriers (‘cuz I don’t quit on the holidays!)
- Dec
- 24
Look at our society. We pride ourselves on being capitalistic, where the money follows the most value. Telling, then, is the fact that among other highly educated/skilled professionals, teachers are among the lowest paid. I find it interesting, if not disheartening that we pay far more to those who specialize in Auto Tune, or in moving money from one account to another, than to those who guide our most precious resource.
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Bullying – The Empathy Solution
- Dec
- 17
Mary Gordon and Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl. Remember those names. With a Mary Gordon’s program, called Roots of Empathy, and the research done by Dr. Schonert-Reichl and others, there may be a breakthrough on the important issue of bullying / aggressive behavior in children.
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Physical Education Solution #3: New Ways to Educate Teachers
- Dec
- 15
So, this is my view of what a PE teacher should possess. A highly educated, highly energized, inspirational, understanding, inclusion-minded team at every school.
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