By John Fensterwald Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you. The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same. Fullan, though, would lead the state in a sharply different direction from the [...]
By John O’Connor Jonathan Ernst / Reuters/Landov Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus. The Republican National Committee is meeting in Hollywood this week, and could take up a resolution opposing new education standards fully adopted by Florida, 44 other states and the District of Columbia. The Source: State Impact Florida
There are so many reasons why California is poised to regain her leadership among states in public education. Most of them stem from the fact that policy-wise, we haven’t completely knuckled under to the damaging policies put forth by the Obama administration. We’ve been evasive on bending to the conditions required for a Race to [...]
The myth is that charters “own” innovation. I don’t buy the myth. In the K12NN FAQ Wiki, I’ve gathered too many examples of 100% public schools that are truly public inside and out – democratic governance mechanisms for the internal and operational affairs of the school and with outward public accountability to taxpayers in all [...]
The Friday before the strike was anticipated to possibly start here in Chicago. I asked my students the simple question at the end of a quiz, “Should your teachers go on strike?” Here is a sampling of their responses. This was a free write so I just typed what they had written. “I Support my [...]
The American Federation of Teacher’s free/open-source archive of lesson plans and other teacher resources wisely uses the web to disintermediate textbook publishers and keep teachers at the forefront of designing and shaping classes tailored to their students’ needs. Share My Lesson was unveiled just recently, and is already available to teachers as they prepare for [...]
Cross-posted with permission from Talk2Action. By K12NN contributor Rachel Tabachnick. This is a new twist on “biblical economics” that I’ve not heard before. According to Alabama State Sen. Shadrack McGill, a 62% pay increase for the state’s legislators in 2007 was necessary, but large increases in teachers’ pay would violate “a biblical principle.” McGill was [...]
NCLB’s narrowed curriculum almost cost our students wonderful opportunities. I refused to allow this school to ditch a fantastic program because they would rather hire a teacher who might have less experience and be able to come in for less money than to hire one to carry on this incredibly valuable art program. So did my daughter. We spoke up. You can too.
On Wednesday, September 28, 2011, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills joined me for a lively Blog Talk Radio podcast with four women running for school board in Bill Gates’ backyard up in Seattle. Sharon Peaslee, Michelle Buetow, Kate Martin and Marty McLaren have a vision for education in their district, and we’ll hear why it doesn’t completely mesh with that of the Gates and the Broad Foundations’ plans for education reform in America. What’s the difference between what these candidates have to offer and “ed reform” (or as some say, “ed Rheeform”)?
This is the high quality K-12 curriculum reform we’ve been waiting for that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking for 21st century learning. It’s what we need to keep California a leader in the worlds of art, science, technology and culture. Please join over 18 parent, educator, and community grassroots groups to urge Governor Brown to sign AB250 into law!