If we think of education reform as beginning with the publication of “A Nation at Risk” in 1983, we can think of the current period as “Reform 1.0”. With the soon-to-be-implemented Common Core State Standards Initiative (and the “vast machinery”…
Category Archives: Standards
The Core of Good Teaching
April 12, 2012 – 9:55 am
The recent draft release of a Common Core exemplar lesson on The Gettysburg Address caused quite a kerfuffle. Proponents of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) approach view the lesson as a strong example of good teaching. It’s tightly…
In Praise of ‘Seat Time’
April 10, 2012 – 1:58 pm
“Seat time.” That’s the classic concept of education. Spend three, four or five hours a week in a classroom and get credit for knowledge of the subject. Of course, to get the credit, one has to “earn” a grade. Don’t…
The Lonely Fight of “Dr. Outcomes”
January 27, 2012 – 1:50 pm
When an education commission has the word “equity” in its name, you can be sure that the focus will be on “inputs” — that is, resources for kids and training for teachers. And so it has proved, based on our…
‘Intelligent Design’ in the ESEA?
January 18, 2012 – 8:00 am
Will the next ESEA reauthorization contain a mandate to teach “intelligent design,” the creationist alternative to the theory of evolution? In a discussion of whether “ID” should be included in the public school curriculum, Jay Mathews, a Washington Post education…
“No Excuses” Teacher Support
January 9, 2012 – 8:00 am
Education reform debates often pit “no excuses” charter schools against the greater national teaching workforce. This is generally tiresome on all fronts. In particular, a critical element — teacher support — isn’t even in the ring. It is buried underneath…
Whiteboard Speaks
January 6, 2012 – 2:51 pm
We are in the New Year and that means another revolutionary twelve months of education policy lies before us. “Revolutionary” is, of course, a relative term for education policy, just as the speed of the slug is relative to that…