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Author Archives: schooldog
School Reform: Testing and Mistaking the Forest for the Trees
Summary: The struggles in our schools will not be won by resort to more standardized testing, but by a recommitment to the central role of the teacher in the classroom. The stories of impactful teachers are legion; the myth of … Continue reading
School Reform: The Finnish Reinvention of Teaching — A Tale of Revolution in Culture
Summary: A central feature in the successful reform of Finnish schools has been the placement of teachers at center stage, as professionals on a social par with doctors and lawyers, and with autonomous responsibility for the academic growth of their … Continue reading
Schools and Culture: The NRA Wants Guns in the Schoolhouse — Say What?
Gotta hand it to the NRA. Back to the Newtown wall, they come out guns blazing, as though there is not insanity in the wash of weapons in our culture, but for sure the solution is in further armament. We … Continue reading
Schools and Culture: Progress in Infant Mortality Begs a Question or Two
Summary: Progress in infant mortality addresses the same root causes as the struggles of low income students in our schools. The academic struggles of low income students do not originate in poor schools, though are encumbered by them, but in … Continue reading
At Risk Kids: Attention Deficit Disorder — Its Diagnosis, Its Treatment, and as a Canary in Culture
Summary: With diagnosis of attention disorders on a substantial rise, medication is useful, but is not a panacea, and kids with these disorders are a flock of cultural canaries. The rate of growth of the number of school age kids … Continue reading
School Reform: Yes, Put the Principal in Charge, But That Ain’t All
Summary: Moves to give principals the authority to determine who will work in the school building for which they are responsible make sense, but to do so is but one of several interlocking changes that need to proceed together. One … Continue reading
School Reform: Testing and Data — Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Part B
Summary: A continuation of the last post which explores the relationship between testing, the data it collects, and the legitimate role and limits of both in school reform. Already the digital data perspective has altered how we think of and … Continue reading
School Reform: Testing and Data — Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Part A
Summary: Testing and the data collection it produces can be a useful tool in school reform, but serious question persists that in this forest it is too easy to lose perspective, and end up magnifying testing results beyond their legitimate … Continue reading
School Reform: The Education of a Reformer
Summary: In an echo of assertions in recent posts that school district leaders need to listen deeply into the ranks in their effort to reform failing schools, we take a look at the current arrival point of the career of … Continue reading
Posted in School Bureaucracy, School Reform, Schools and Politics
Tagged administrative style, communication in schools, empowering teachers, flat oranizations, Michelle Rhee, relationships in schools, school leadership, school reform, StudentsFirst, superintendent style, teachers' unions
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Schools and At Risk Kids: Early Intervention Redux
Summary: The President’s State of the Union message unexpectedly highlighted early childhood intervention, and has stimulated further discussion of the issue. Is there a whiff of bipartisanship in the air? In my post of February 5 I displayed my pessimism … Continue reading
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