Learning By HeartLearning By HeartThis Open Source Learning Community is created by educators for educators. Open Source Learning is the new name for Progressive Education. Articles
Obama's Possible Candidates for Education Secretary By PAUL BASKEN
2008-11-22 01:42:00 [RE-PRINTED FROM THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION--Wednesday, November 5, 2008]If history is any guide, Barack Obama will spend several weeks chugging through higher priorities on his presidential to-do list before choosing an education secretary.And if he follows past trends, Mr. Obama is not likely to choose a secretary on the basis of higher-education policy. His nominee will be the ninth U.S. secretary of education, and nearly all of the previous eight were known more for their backgrounds at the elementary and secondary levels.Only one had a background focused primarily on higher-education: Lauro F. Cavazos Jr., who had been president of Texas Tech University and dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine. Mr. Cavazos was named education secretary in 1988, the last year of the Reagan administration, and resigned in 1990, under President George Bush."There's been a big emphasis, sure, on elementary and secondary," Mr. Cavazos said in an interview. "That's where practical... More About: Education , Candidates , Paul
IF I WERE SECRETARY OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
2008-11-19 16:47:00 The work that needs to be done on a policy level is to dismantle No Child Left Behind. The law is unreasonable and purports to have all children on grade level by 2012. Now, if I designed a test that I knew all of the test takers would fail, I would conclude that the fault is with the test maker, not the test taker. Students and their teachers cannot possibly achieve the aim that the proponents of of NCLB intended. In it's place, I would write and support laws that made sure that all students had safe schools to go to, with curricula that inspired them to reach beyond themselves. I would put the emphasis on achieveable goals for each school, classroom, and student with high expectations for each but no punitive high stakes measures. I would put the emphasis squarely on teacher quality, with lots of observation and feedback and professional development, but I wouldn't make people fear for their jobs or livelihoods, unless they were truly mediocre or bad.I would put the emphasis o... More About: Education , Department , Department of Education
The New Secretary of Education: Colin Powell or Linda Darling-Hammond?
2008-11-18 05:19:00 How important is the Secretary of Education ? Some would say, "Not very."The last two chiefs of education, Ron Page and Margaret Spellings, were noted more for pissing off the teachers' unions rather than for any policies that they authored or advanced. Of course, these past eight years will be known for its Everest-like failures and monumental divisiveness in education (and just about everything else) rather than promoting the cause of education as a surefire way to advance through the American caste (err...) class system. Once upon a time the goal of our educational system meant advancing through the various rungs up the ladder one rickety step at a time. It wasn't always easy, but somehow men and women, boys and girls, and children of all ages were better for their tenacity and perseverance. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." (I'm still not quite sure what the heck this means.) Although with the election of Barack Obama to the highest Office in the land... More About: Colin Powell , Linda , Darling , Powell
How Stereotyping Yourself Contributes to Your Success (or Failure)
2008-11-17 19:53:00 People's performance on intellectual and athletic tasks is shaped by awareness of stereotypes about the groups to which they belong. New research explains why— and how we can break free from the expectations of othersBy S. Alexander Haslam, Jessica Salvatore, Thomas Kessler and Stephen D. ReicherYou tried so hard. But you failed. You did not pass the test, you performed poorly in the interview or you missed your project goal at the office. Why? Is it that you were not capable? Or could something more subtle—and worrisome—also be at work?As it turns out, research shows that such performance failures cannot always be attributed simply to inherent lack of ability or incompetence. Although some have jumped to the highly controversial conclusion that differences in attainment reflect natural differences between groups, the roots of many handicaps actually lie in the stereotypes, or preconceptions, that others hold about the groups to which we belong. For instance, a woman who know... More About: Success , Failure
Savoring the Undertones and Lingering Subtleties of Obama’s Victory Speec
2008-11-09 01:30:00 [from http://theboard.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11 /07/savoring-the-undertones-and-lingering -subtleties-of-obamas-victory-speech/] Like many great orations, Barack Obama’s victory speech on Tuesday night was deceptively simple. As powerful as it was to hear, the hidden complexities and import of the president-elect’s words surface only after we re-read the text and think back on the moment.A confirmed fan of Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Obama drew on another flawless speech, the Gettysburg Address (pdf) (“a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the earth”), while also celebrating both the inherited majesty of the Democratic process and his own achievement — the broad coalition that elected him. He echoed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ( “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice’’) when he praised the electorate for rejecting the rhetoric of fear and for “ put[ting] their hands on the arc of history and bend[ing]... More About: Victory
Who Will Obama Pick as Secretary of Education? ~ By Kathleen Kingsbury
2008-11-08 06:30:00 [reprinted from http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816, 1857195,00.html]As Barack Obama begins to assess his potential picks for his cabinet, Secretary of Education is not one of the positions you would necessarily expect him to focus on first. But American parents especially may wish to study up on the possible candidates. After all, if Obama's campaign proposals are to be fulfilled, Margaret Spellings' successor could oversee a dramatic $18 billion overhaul of the nation's public education system over the next few years.Whoever gets the spot, Obama's new Ed chief should expect to face a huge test right off in the contentious reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind act, considered to be one of the first priorities in Congress come January. Down the road, he or she can also plan to direct the founding of hundreds of new charter schools and the spread of universal pre-K nationwide, as well as a continued focus on increased accountability and a better trained teacher ... More About: Pick , Kingsbury
ON THE ISSUES: MCCAIN'S EDUCATION PLAN (directly from the McCain/Palin Webs
2008-11-03 07:27:00 Excellence, Choice, and Competition in American Education John McCain believes American education must be worthy of the promise we make to our children and ourselves. He understands that we are a nation committed to equal opportunity, and there is no equal opportunity without equal access to excellent education.Public education should be defined as one in which our public support for a child's education follows that child into the school the parent chooses. The school is charged with the responsibility of educating the child, and must have the resources and management authority to deliver on that responsibility. They must also report to the parents and the public on their progress.The deplorable status of preparation for our children, particularly in comparison with the rest of the industrialized world, does not allow us the luxury of eliminating options in our educational repertoire. John McCain will fight for the ability of all students to have access to all schools of demonstrat... More About: Issues , Webs , Plan
ON THE ISSUES: OBAMA'S EDUCATION PLAN (directly from the Obama/Biden Websit
2008-11-03 07:22:00 A World class educationThe ProblemNo Child Left Behind Left the Money Behind: The goal of the law was the right one, but unfulfilled funding promises, inadequate implementation by the Education Department and shortcomings in the design of the law itself have limited its effectiveness and undercut its support. As a result, the law has failed to provide high-quality teachers in every classroom and failed to adequately support and pay those teachers.Teacher Retention is a Problem: Thirty percent of new teachers leave within their first five years in the profession.Soaring College Costs: College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years. The average graduate leaves college with over $19,000 in debt. And between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not go to college because they cannot afford it. Finally, our complicated maze of tax credits and applications leaves too many students unaware of financial aid available to them.Barack Obama and Joe Bi... More About: Issues , Plan , Biden
THE TOP THREE: EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS
2008-11-02 22:36:00 What an election season this has been. We are faced with major challenges over the next eight years. Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have made their closing arguments for why they each should be elected. Neither, I believe, has made the case for educational policies that would be any different than George W. Bush or Bill Clinton. The last two terms of the Bush administrations have been a boon to the textbook and testing companies by promoting an ill-conceived and ill-executed educational policy--No Child Left Behind--which underscores the inherent problems with most of the Bush era policies, foreign and domestic. The Clinton years were not any more successful in helping school-aged children. Indeed, the school accountability movement got its legs under Bill Clinton's administration. School Choice found voice, teacher and student "competencies" became a mantra, and religious acceptance in schools became issues from 1993 to 2000. Teachers, students, and schools ... More About: Educational , Years
Gallup Poll: Candidate Support by Education
2008-11-02 07:11:00 The election is coming down to he wire. Let's take a look at a Gallup Poll that tracks the support of Obama and McCain by education level. Candidate Support by Education Election Trends by Group Key Indicators Home | Gallup Poll | Consulting | University | Press | Contact Us Copyright © 2008 Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.
May Day
2008-04-30 07:44:00 May signals the last full month in most schools. In many public schools across America, teachers finally have the opportunity to take their students out of the schoolhouse to attend the field trips that they have been saving up for for months. Before the September 11th, I took a group of high school sophomores to ride public transit to the airport where we hung out at the gate as people waited for their loved ones to arrive. Remember that. The students wrote wonderful pieces about loss, waiting, and longing. High school style.What about you? What are your favorite May field trips? Let me know...
Remembrance: What Can I Do To Make This Happen?
2008-04-04 22:36:00 On the 40th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, a friend sent this video to me from the Barack Obama for President website. I know that we have a moral obligation to do better and be better as a people and a nation. Hope is not something that one person possesses. It is shared. In fact, hope is no good unless it is shared. Hope without vision is just a dream.So, how can a dream become reality.I would much rather be a nation where the people are filled with hope rather than cynicism. I would much rather be nation that puts more emphasis on the next generation rather than on our current one. Finally, I would much rather be a a nation of believers rather than "can't sayers" or "haters," which begs the question...What can I do to make this happen? More About: Remembrance , Make
To Test or Not To Test? Is That The Question?
2008-03-11 05:21:00 I'll occasionally put up videos that I don't entirely agree with to spark debate. Test scores do not measure how successful a child or a nation will be. That's just a simple fact. So, what do test scores measure? Should we put the kind of emphasis on the them that we have done over the last few years? Many education reformers argue vehemently against using test scores as a way to measure what kids know and what schools (and teachers) do. What should we measure? The nations is far too big to leave it all up to chance. Right? Is there a better way to see if we are getting our taxpayers' moneys worth? So many questions, so little time as we hear the tick, tick, ticking of our own time bomb--about to/go/off.What do you think? More About: Question
The Audacity of Hopelessness By FRANK RICH
2008-02-27 05:26:00 (reprinted from the New York Times February 24, 2008)WHEN people one day look back at the remarkable implosion of the Hillary Clinton campaign, they may notice that it both began and ended in the long dark shadow of Iraq.It’s not just that her candidacy’s central premise — the priceless value of “experience” — was fatally poisoned from the start by her still ill-explained vote to authorize the fiasco. Senator Clinton then compounded that 2002 misjudgment by pursuing a 2008 campaign strategy that uncannily mimicked the disastrous Bush Iraq war plan. After promising a cakewalk to the nomination — “It will be me,” Mrs. Clinton told Katie Couric in November — she was routed by an insurgency.The Clinton camp was certain that its moneyed arsenal of political shock-and-awe would take out Barack Hussein Obama in a flash. The race would “be over by Feb. 5,” Mrs. Clinton assured George Stephanopoulos just before New Year’s. But once the Obama forces outwitted her, le... More About: Rich , Frank Rich , Frank , Audacity
Hillary on the High Road? By BOB HERBERT
2008-02-24 06:39:00 (reprinted from the New York Times February 23, 2008)A referee would stop the fight. Hillary Clinton is exhausted, and her supporters are becoming increasingly demoralized. The candidate who tried to present herself as inevitable has been out-maneuvered nearly every step of the way by a prodigy with a warm and brilliant smile who still seems as energetic as an athlete doing calisthenics before a big game.Texas and Ohio and several other states still have to vote. But there was a wistful quality and a strong hint of resignation in Senator Clinton’s voice at the end of the debate Thursday night when, after saying she was “honored to be here with Barack Obama,” she added:“Whatever happens, we’re going to be fine. We have strong support from our families and our friends. I just hope that we’ll be able to say the same thing about the American people.”Mrs. Clinton said later that she had not become pessimistic about her chances to win the democratic presidential nomination. ... More About: Bob Herbert , High , Road , Herbert
Does Cheating Really Matter?: Clinton Campaign Charges Obama with Plagiaris
2008-02-19 06:36:00 For most English teachers, like me, plagiarism is tantamount to kidnapping, which is the latinate root that it comes from. Did Barack Obama plagiarize Massachusetts's Governor Deval Patrick's campaign speech?See for yourself...YES!Is it "not that big a deal"? At least that is what Barack is claiming. After all Patrick and Obama are good friends. After all, what's a few lines lifted from your friend's speech without attribution. It's a HUGE deal. Not just for anal English teachers like me but for all Americans. It's not just about kidnapping other people's words, but it's about being perfect and humble and not believing your own press, or the cult of personality that is building around your campaign. What Black people know is if you want to win in the dominant culture, you have to play an almost flawless game. It's not the pursuit but the attainment of perfection. It's being twice as good. The rules are different. Sad, but true.This could be a very big deal in... More About: Cheating , Campaign , Matter , Clinton
ORAMA 08' Youth Make Their Case for Sticking with Mitt
2008-02-11 19:07:00 Even though he is gone, Mitt Romney is not forgotten. This falls into the category of: "You won't have Mitt Romney to kick around anymore." More About: Youth , Case , Make
BALM IN GILEAD: I VOTED FOR BARACK!
2008-02-06 19:22:00 After searching my conscious and reviewing a great deal about what others have written about the junior senator from Illinois, I voted for Barack Obama in the Super Tuesday election yesterday.I read Gary Kamiya's wonderful article in Salon.com, "Biracial, But Not Like Me," which solidified some of what I was thinking, but it became clear to me that the time has come to heal the wounds that this nation still holds pre- and post-Civil War. Kamiya, a Presidio Hill School parent, asserts:But I wasn't going to vote for Obama just because he was black, or because he had the gift of appealing to people across the spectrum. I agreed with his staunchly liberal positions on the issues (if I hadn't, I never would have considered voting for him), but there was a fuzziness about some of them that was a little troubling to me. He seemed stronger on the high intellectual and spiritual themes than on the nuts and bolts of governance. And I had some ambivalent feelings about his political leitmo...
GOING DEEP: MCCAIN ON EDUCATION PART II
2008-02-04 06:17:00 From many of the polls and pundits, it looks like Senator John McCain has the fast track to becoming the Republican nominee for President of the United States. Here is where the Senator from Arizona stands on educational issues, according to On the Issues:Teaching creationism should be decided by school districtsQ: Do you believe creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the nation's schools?No, I believe that's up to the school districts. But I think that every American should be exposed to all theories. There's no doubt in my mind that the hand of God was in what we are today. And I do believe that we are unique, and I believe that God loves us. But I also believe that all of our children in school can be taught different views on different issues. I leave the curricula up to the school boards.Source: 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007Believes in evolution, but sees the hand of God in natureQ: Do you believe in evolution?McCAIN: Yes.Q: I'm curious, ... More About: Education , Deep , Part
GOING DEEP: CLINTON ON EDUCATION PART II
2008-02-04 06:14:00 Here's is a much deeper "drill down" on where Senator Clinton stands on education from the website On the Issues:Get more teachers into hard-to-serve areasI support school-based merit pay. We need to get more teachers to go into hard-to-serve areas. We've got to get them into underserved urban areas, underserved rural areas. The school is a team, and it's important that we reward that collaboration. A child who moves from kindergarten to sixth grade in the same school, every one of those teachers is going to affect that child. You need to weed out the teachers not doing a good job. That's the bottom line. They should not be teaching our children.Source: 2007 Democratic debate in Las Vegas, Nevada Nov 15, 2007We have not yet reached consensus on education reformQ: Has the debate so far in this campaign paid enough attention to education?A: I don't think it has. In the debates that we've had, education is an afterthought. But when I go out and campaign all over the country, it'... More About: Education , Deep , Part , Linton
GOING DEEP: OBAMA ON EDUCATION PART II
2008-02-04 06:05:00 Now that we are entering the home stretch in the primaries, I wanted a deeper excavation about where the candidates stood on education. Taken from the On the Issues website:http://www.ontheissues.org/Social /Barack_Obama _Education .htm BARACK OBAMA: FURTHER THOUGHTS AND VOTING ON EDUCATIONAL ISSUESWe need a sense of urgency about improving education systemQ: How would you assess the American education system, how well is it doing from K to high school?A: Well, I think it's doing very well for some. But it's not doing very well for all. So, No Child Left Behind has been false advertising. And there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency about improving the education system. It is a sense of urgency that we've got to restore if we're going to be able to remain competitive in this new global economy. So, a couple of steps that I think we have to take. Across the board we're going to have to recruit a generation of new teachers. We're going to have to pay our teachers more, we goin... More About: Deep , Part
The Democratic Process
2008-02-01 22:07:00 On Tuesday, February 5th, 24 states will hold primaries, caucuses, and state conventions to determine the number of delegates that will be elected to the national conventions this summer. The two main political parties in this country, Republicans and Democrats, will then choose a nominee at their respective conventions who will in turn square off against each other in a national election in early November that will determine who will be the next President of the United States. After Super Tuesday, the Democrats will elect about 54% of its total delegates and the Republicans will select around 41%. Okay, that’s Civics 101, but what do you tell your children about the elections and this seemingly endless process, if anything?Well, please do engage with them in talking about “the process.” It’s a truly an amazing and wonderful way of electing one of the world’s most powerful leaders that often gets lost by talking about the individuals and the acrimony. I resist telling ... More About: Democratic , Process
Millennials Part 1
2008-01-30 18:57:00 What the hell is a millennial? Why should you care? Are we late boomers responsible for their creation? More About: Part , Millennials
The Millennial Generation (guest article by Wally Bock)
2008-01-30 18:55:00 Last week, Joanna, the daughter of the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, took an afternoon of her time to help me do car shopping. After driving me around and functioning as my car buying advisor, she went off to babysitting, which is one of several jobs that she's got.Now, if you're thinking, "Wow, what a good kid. She sure is different than most teenagers," you're right and you're wrong.You're right if you think that Joanna is a good kid. She's also smart and pretty sure of herself. She's got some values, too. She is a good kid. But she's not that different from lots of others in her generation.You're wrong if you think that "She sure is different than most teenagers." The generalization you're working with came from the last couple of generations. It includes things like lots of youth crime, teen pregnancies and plummeting test scores.None of those are true for Joanna's generation. Instead teen pregnancies and crime have been falling for the last decade, the time they... More About: Article , Guest , Generation , Wally
Mwenye Baraka--Jemmimah Thiong'o
2008-01-27 07:02:00 "Hey, Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.""Agaiiin?""Roaaaar.""...and now, for something that we hope you'll really like."
Pictures From Iraq: What We Learn From War
2008-01-24 07:49:00 In all the debate about Iraq , we forget that human faces are attached. Living, dying, connecting. Iraqis, American troops, civilian personnel, they all have stories to tell about the lives they have led and friends they have lost. Tim Clemente, former FBI agent, and a friend, has been a counter-terrorism expert, but he found some humanity in the work that he does. We probably wouldn't agree on politics, per se, but he has been a good friend and tremendous father to eight beautiful children. Good kids. Make no mistake, the Iraqi War is a tremendously unpopular conflict complete with epic villains and Shakespearean deceivers, but the soldiers who went there to fight and show a human side of a nation in turmoil, won't face the scorn that their brethren from Vietnam went through nor will they have the heroes welcome that the "greatest generation" received after World War II.What will be their legacy? These troops, former students, humans, all. More About: Pictures , Learn
Bill on Obama: Whose Line Is It Anyway?
2008-01-23 07:39:00 Stay out of the race. It seems that Bill Clinton is getting it from all sides. Bill the Clinton has been all over the country stumping for Hillary and setting the record straight. To the point where Barack Obama retorted at the CNN Congressional Black Caucus Institute debate on Monday evening (1.21.08), "Sometimes I don't know who I'm running against." Senator Obama's query is certainly justified. Rarely does a former president take sides in the primary election, usually letting the events before the party's convention play themselves out. Today's Chicago Tribune's editorial (1.22.08), "President Heckler," makes the case that Bill should keep his mouth shut, indicating that the former President always did have a problem with restraint.Can you blame, Bill? Before Hillary teared up in New Hampshire and "found" her voice, she needed help--a great deal of it. Out came the big guns. Enter Bill Clinton, stage right, in full Lady MacBeth regalia. However, now that Hillary h... More About: Line
Presidio Hill School: What is a Progressive School?
More articles from this author:2008-01-23 07:00:00 A few months ago (October 5 – 6, 2007), the teachers at Presidio Hill School joined other progressive educators from around the country for the first national Progressive Schools Conference in more than a decade. You’ll be happy to note that we helped to host the event by sponsoring 15 progressive educators at the school for a lunch and tour. Many of the other area progressive schools were involved with the conference planning, including San Francisco School, Park Day School in Oakland, Blue Oak School in Napa, and several others. Two of our own teachers presented at the conference, talking about progressive practices and what they are up to in their classrooms.As I have often said, progressive education is less about regurgitating rigid content standards (although content is very important as students mature) and more about creating habits of mind that make life-long learners successful. Progressive Education is also democracy in action. Thinking about Presidio Hill School... 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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