“Hey, Ernie! Yes, you in the back row of the faculty meeting where you have been sitting it seems like forever. Do you remember telling us ‘I’ve seen educational changes come and go. All I have to do is sit … Continue reading
Ernie in the Back Row – The Reality of Educational Reform
Building New Faculties
If a faculty of teachers is the heart of any school, then high quality instruction by caring teachers is the end game of faculty-building. Faculty building is the recruitment, hiring, sustenance and bonding of an array of expert teachers into … Continue reading
The Necessity of Sifting
I bake, so I sift. I live, so I sift. So, I borrow the saying, “sift happens.” And, to create better and more delicate bakery and to develop better and more impactful life decisions, the more one must sift. Bakers … Continue reading
Teaching Is Causing Learning; Get Rid Of Other Agendas
Tis a time for simplicity. Amongst the piles of edu-data, reform proposals, governmental mandates, and clutchings for new ways to improve student learning outcomes, one simple explanation remains. Learning is a transaction between the learner and what is to be … Continue reading
Be a Who Shouting “No Guns In School”
It is time for the Whos to bellow loudly. You remember the Whos of Dr. Seuss Horton Hears A Who fame. Really, if you cannot find your loudest voice on this issue, then you should be on a mote of … Continue reading
Rosin’s “Suicide High” Is A Must Read
Read this. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/12/the-silicon-valley-suicides/413140/ Articles about child suicide usually put me off. It’s not just the tragedy of a life lost, but the emotional pit into which everyone – parents and family, friends, teachers and coaches – swirls in trying to find … Continue reading
Managing Your School’s DEFCOM Events
What did we learn from the confrontation between school personnel and a non-compliant student at Spring Valley High School (South Carolina)? You may remember the CNN, Google News and tabloid coverage of this story; it was their headline for a … Continue reading
Not Reading This Summer? You Will Start School In September With Less Than You Left It in June
When my grandsons told me not to give them more books as summer gifts, I knew they were heading into the long, eroding slide of a non-reading summer. “We have enough books, Gramps”, they said, and “School is over and … Continue reading
In Education, Everything Is Politics
What should one do when “the Great Hub Bub” seems so overwhelming and no one appears capable or willing to listen to those who yell “Stop! What are we doing! This makes no sense!”? The conundrum of public education in … Continue reading
The Big Picture Is Needed For A Better Future
Who sees the Big Picture for your school? The Big picture. You remember what that is. Generally, the Big Picture is the school’s Mission Statement. It is the collage of high ground learning outcomes that your school wants all children … Continue reading